Italy is not far from Lebanon; to say that the Lebanese love Italian cuisine is stating the obvious. Osso bucco or lasagne verde  was served at  sidewalk cafés in Beirut as far back as I remember. The Italian influence was not even  limited to food, since even centuries ago Italian architects and decorators were commissioned by local princes and sheikhs  to design palaces and mansions.

 All of this to say that I could not imagine living without the occasional Italian dish, like osso bucco on a cold winter night.

Found a huge cookbook in my parents’ library, Ada Boni’s Il Talismano de Felicità; well, I was surprised to find that theirs does not call for tomatoes and is simply veal shanks braised in wine and broth and the final stir of flavor is adding chopped parsley, lemon peel, garlic and a bit of anchovy. And plenty of butter.

This recipe has tomato sauce as well as wine and some onion, celery and carrots. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 thick veal shanks (with bones)
• flour, as needed
• oil, as needed (or clarified butter)
• 1 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• 2 cups of  chopped tomatoes (peeled and seeded) or tomato sauce (optional)
• 1 cup of chopped onion, carrot and celery
• 1 tbsp of mashed garlic
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• rind of a lemon or orange (or a mixture of both)
• 1 tbsp of anchovy paste (optional)

1. Season the veal shanks and dip them in flour; heat some oil and brown the shanks on all sides. Set aside. Fry  the onion, celery and carrots till soft. Place the veal shanks back in the pot and pour the white wine, scraping the pot. Let the wine reduce by at least half or entirely and add the optional tomato sauce. Let the stew simmer very gently for at least one hour or longer, until the shanks are tender.
2. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the garlic , parsley, rind of lemon and anchovy and swirl it around to distribute the flavor. Serve the shanks with buttered pasta, a risotto or boiled potatoes.

There is a variety of onions called salamouni here, with an elongated graceful shape; they taste just like regular yellow onions but the neat thing about them is that once boiled, their skins stay curled up, making them perfect for stuffing. 

This recipe is shared by Asma, my wonderful Kurdish friend, who told me it was her father’s favorite dish. I will post a short video of Asma making this in the next 48 hours.

The stuffing here is the basic rice and ground meat one with a generous amount of sumac. Cabbage leaves are included in the pot as well. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of beef or lamb bones (preferably from the ribs)
• 1/2 pound of ground beef or lamb
• 2 cups of Italian or Egyptian or sushi rice
• Spices: 1 tsp of salt (or more), 2 tsp of seven-spice (or half cinnamon, half allspice, a touch of nutmeg), 1/4 cup of sumac (or more, to taste).
• Olive oil, as needed
• 1 pound of onions
• 1 pound of cabbage leaves
• 1 bouillon cube
• 1 large lemon juiced (or 1/2 cup of lemon juice)

1. Blanch the onions and cabbage leaves in plenty of salted water till thoroughly wilted and soft. Drain and set aside while preparing the stuffing briefly. 
2. In a bowl, mix the rice, meat and spices; add one or more tablespoons of oil to the mixture if it feels too dry. Heat  a large pot and brown the bones; set aside. 
3. Stuff the onion leaves one by one, removing the translucent skin covering between each layer of skin. Stuff the cabbage leaves, removing the stalks and keeping them aside to line the pot. Place the cabbage and onion leaves side by side in the pot. Cover with a small plate to hold them in place (place a rock on top of the plate if necessary for extra protection). Sprinkle sumac over the leaves, add water to the top and bring to a simmer; add the lemon juice gradually as the pot simmers gently for one hour. 
4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One major difference between, say, French or Italian or Greek cuisine  and Middle-Eastern cuisine  lies in the widespread use of yogurt in cooking. In traditional Lebanese cooking, béchamel or white sauce is not used, period. Yogurt from cow milk or goat milk is used in hundreds of dishes. To add some kick, a pesto of cilantro (or mint), garlic and olive oil is fried quickly and swirled into the sauce at the last minute. 

When warming yogurt to make a sauce, use some cornstarch and (or) egg to prevent curdling and thicken the sauce a bit.

This kibbeh in yogurt sauce is as traditional as it gets; the only difference is that some people stuff the kibbeh balls and some do not. My grandmother never filled hers; my friend Lena would not  fill  hers either and told me that her husband’s reaction when he discovered the kibbeh balls were hollow was to say: ” Are you playing a trick on me?”. (He was angry). 

Most Lebanese supermarkets carry bags of frozen kibbeh balls. In a pinch, I would use frozen meatballs and add a small handful of rice (or bulgur) to the sauce. Kibbeh balls freeze very well  if you decide to make them ahead of time.

For a kibbeh labnieh recipe, click here

NOTE: If you make hollow balls, make sure to puncture them from both ends with a toothpick prior to poaching them so that they don’t burst!

I would name this one of the most exquisite in the Lebanese roster of traditional dishes; however, it does require some TLC.

The onions have to be browned first, the lamb or beef need to simmer till thoroughly cooked in their broth and  the bulgur pilaf, studded with onions, chunks of meat and chickpeas,  should be fragrant with cumin and the flavor of the caramelized onions. 

Learned of a new technique today: When preparing the sauce for this dish, toast the flour first in the skillet till light brown, then add the broth and stir till thickened. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups of coarse bulgur
• 1 pound of pearl onions 
• 1 pound of lamb shanks or lamb stew pieces or beef stew
• 2 cups of cooked chickpeas or 1 cup of dry
• 1 Tbsp of ground cumin
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper (or allspice)
• olive oil, as needed
• 1/4 cup of flour

For a vegan recipe, click here.

METHOD:

1.  Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil and brown the onions from all sides. Set aside. Sprinkle the meat with spices and brown briefly in a pot with a bit of oil; add 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of water and simmer gently until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender. (you may add bones to the stock for extra flavor). If using dry chickpeas, soak them the night before with a dash of baking soda, drain and add to the meat stock to cook alongside the meat. If using canned beans, rinse and drain and add to the pot towards the end of cooking time. 
2. Reserve 2 cups of meat broth (can take some meat and beans and onions as well for the sauce if you wish) to make the sauce; scoop out the meat and beans and cook the bulgur in the remaining stock. You need about 2 cups of liquid. Cover and cook the bulgur until soft and place the meat and beans back in the pot with the bulgur as well as onions. 
3. Make the sauce: Toast the flour in a skillet until light brown and fragrant; add the meat stock (minus meat, beans and onions) and stir till thickened; add the meat, beans and onions in the sauce if desired. Stir to combine until smooth. Serve with the bulgur pilaf. 

This is a traditional kibbeh from Merdin, Turkey made in Beirut by Asma Z., a Kurdish lady. Asma is one of my favorite people here and she told me some tidbits from her life; her family left Turkey and settled in Lebanon and her mother put her to work as a maid at the age of ten. As a result, she never learned how to read or write; thanks to her superior intellect and her determination she finally  did  while her own children were attending elementary school. 

This kibbeh is absolutely delicious and has two marked advantages: One, it is boiled and not fried. Two, it is easier to shape than our traditional Lebanese kibbeh.

The shell is composed of fine bulgur and semolina flour; Asma used a mix given to her by a friend who brought it from Syria. She recommends using a bleached bulgur and a coarse semolina flour to obtain the same results. Once boiled, the kibbeh is soft and doughy and the stuffing is juicy and bursting with flavor.

Asma mentioned that some people like to fry the kibbeh after boiling it. The kibbeh are best at room temperature. She said it is traditional to eat these and drink a glass of ayran (yogurt drink). 

 INGREDIENTS:

For the shells: 2 cups of fine bulgur and one cup of semolina and a few tablespoons of water as needed. Salt and pepper.

For the stuffing: 

• 1/2 pound of ground beef, fatty OK
• 1 pound of onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup of chopped parsley 
• 1/4 cup of hot red pepper paste or chili paste
• Salt, pepper to taste

1. Heat a little olive oil and fry the onion until translucent and golden; add the meat and fry till browned and add the spices; add the chili paste and the chopped parsley and mix to combine. Set the stuffing aside.
2. Place the bulgur and semolina in a bowl. Cover with hot water and leave it there for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze the mixture. Place in the bowl of a food processor and run the machine, adding water (one teaspoon at a time) if necessary, until the mixture holds together and is a firm but moist dough. 
3. Make small egg-size balls and hollow them with the index finger; stuff them with 2 or 3 teaspoons of the meat stuffing and pat the opening to seal it well. 
4. When ready to eat, boil 2 quarts of salted waterand drop the kibbeh in the water, only a few at a time; boil gently for 3 to 4 minutes then drain. Serve the kibbeh at room temperature.

NOTE: I would like to provide two websites which are edited by Arlette and Gula (in French); both provide a recipe for this kibbeh, Arlette has the Assyrian version and Gula the Kurdish version.

The butcher  in Lebanon  is a trusted friend and partner in the kitchen;  certain dishes  are prepared by  him  and all one has to do is cook them.

This is a rib-eye roast (called shahbayeh) that comes already tied in string. It only requires browning then braising  for one hour or longer in a little wine and aromatics.

The polenta is fun served this way ; delicious smothered with gravy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pound of roast beef
• To flavor the gravy: 2 onions (cut in quarters), 6 cloves of garlic (peeled), 2 carrots (peeled and cut in three chunks); a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme or rosemary, several peppercorns, some dried zaatar or oregano
• To flavor the roast: Salt, pepper, 2 tsp of  seven-spice, a dash of coriander and 3 or 4 tbsp of flour
  
• 1 1/4 cup of white wine
• 2 cups of polenta, cooked according to the package directions
• 1 cup of shredded hard cheese, like Swiss or Comté to flavor the polenta
• oil and butter as needed
• 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto to garnish (optional)
• 1 or 2 tbsp of cornstarch to thicken gravy (use one tbsp per cup of gravy)

METHOD:

1. Sprinkle the roast with all the spices, leaving out the salt which will be added towards the end of cooking. Pat with flour and heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large and heavy-bottomed pot. Brown the roast evenly with the quartered onions, garlic and carrot. Splash with the wine and throw in the bay leaf and other aromatics.
2. Cover the pot with a large piece of foil then the lid; let the roast braise over very low heat, regulating the heat so that it does not boil just simmers gently. After 30 minutes or so, flip the roast and check the broth; if the wine is totally evaporated, add a cup of hot water. Let the roast simmer gently until cooked. Remove the roast, untie the strings and slice. Strain the sauce and thicken it with a little cornstarch. Serve with warm polenta.

What tourist brochures fail to mention when advertising the many advantages  of Lebanon  is that this is the place where self-expression rules.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the road.

Lebanese drivers favor honking as their favorite method of self-expression; to  be awakened at 3:00AM by a honking contest (when your half-conscious mind is wondering “surely the traffic can’t be bad at this hour?”) is not infrequent for example.

Changing the topic, this is Lebanese comfort food par excellence. Silky and so tender that they dissolve in the mouth, these cabbage rolls will make you forget traffic, honking and other urban annoyances.

The cabbage leaves need to be tender, the rice used in the stuffing needs to be medium-grain rice and the seasoning needs to permeate the dish to avoid blandness.

Stuffed with a  meat and rice combo or a coarse-grain bulgur and split chick-peas for a vegan version.

INGREDIENTS: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 green cabbage, preferably with tender leaves
• 1 pound of ground meat (fatty OK)
• 1 large onion
• 1 cup of rice (sushi, Egyptian, Italian or Turkish, or any medium-grain)
• Spices: 1 head of garlic, 1/4 cup of dried mint, 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of olive oil.
• Spices for the meat: 1 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of white pepper
• 4 cups of meat or chicken stock or water

METHOD:

1. Blanch the cabbage leaves in salted  boiling water for several minutes until very tender. Drain in a colander and then cut them in 5 inch squares. Reserve the thick stalks.
2. Soak the rice for 15 minutes in water, drain and mix with the ground meat, salt and white pepper.
3. Chop the onion fine and fry gently in olive oil till softened; mash 8 cloves of garlic with some salt in a mortar coarsely and add to the chopped onion. Add the dried mint and fry this pesto for a few seconds until fragrant. Transfer to the bottom of the pot in which the cabbage leaves will cook; top with the cabbage stalks spreading them to cover the bottom of the pan.
4. Flatten each cabbage square and place a generous tablespoon of stuffing on the edge of it; roll up like a cigar, leaving the ends open. Try not to place stuffing towards the ends as the stuffing will expand during cooking.
5. Place the cabbage cigars one by one in the pot; place a small plate on top of the cigars to hold them in place if desired. Place the remaining garlic cloves (peeled but whole) in-between the cabbage rolls. Add the meat stock, the lemon juice and the rest of the olive oil as well. Cook for about one hour over low heat at a gentle simmer until the stuffing is thoroughly cooked and the leaves are extra tender. Serve warm.

NOTE: In the olden days, fat was added to the meat for extra flavor and moisture; for expediency, I would simply use a ground meat at 85%.

To call this dish a soup is misleading;  like the Mexican posole it is a grand dish with many components each of which have to be prepared separately.

Mouloukhieh is hugely popular in Lebanon and in Egypt and the exact origin of this dish has not been established yet. Suffice it to say that each region prepares it a bit differently. My Egyptian friend Phoebe who has successfully grown the mouloukhieh plant in her Dallas backyard, never uses any cilantro in hers; omitting cilantro in the Lebanese version would be considered heresy.

This plant is called jew’s mallow in the US and corette in French-speaking countries. It is available frozen in all Middle-Eastern grocers in the US and Canada; it is available fresh in Asian markets in the US, as it is a plant that is consumed in Asian countries.

The method for making mouloukhieh is very simple: Prepare a chicken or beef or lamb broth by boiling the meat with some aromatic spices. Prepare a cilantro pesto using fresh and dried cilantro, garlic and olive oil. Flavor the broth with the cilantro pesto and cook the mouloukhieh leaves in the broth very briefly. Serve the soup with pieces of meat or chicken (or both) over white rice, some toasted pita chips, and ladle some chopped onion and vinegar (or lemon) over the soup when ready to savor it.

For some pointers on how to use the fresh mouloukhieh, click here.

INGREDIENTS: 8 generous servings

• 3-pound whole chicken
• 2 lamb or beef shanks (optional)
• 4  cups of cooked long-grain rice (can use Basmati)
• 3 pita breads, toasted in a 275F oven till golden and dry and crumbled
• Aromatics for the broth (chicken and meat): 1 or 2 carrots, 2 bay leaves, black peppercorns, 1 leek or 1 celery stalk, 1 sprig of thyme, 2 cinnamon sticks, a few sprigs of parsley, any other spice you like to add to your broth.
• 2 packages of frozen mouloukhieh (about 400 g each)
• 3 large onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup of red vinegar or 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
• For the cilantro pesto: 2 bunches of fresh cilantro, 12 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of olive oil.
• 1 tbsp of dried  cilantro powder (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place the whole chicken (minus innards) in a pot with cold water to cover and the aromatics; bring to a simmer and let it simmer slowly until cooked, skimming any froth from the surface of the pot. Cool the chicken and debone, reserving large pieces for the mouloukhieh later on. Strain the broth and set aside.
2. If using meat shanks, follow the same procedure; when cooked, set aside and strain the broth. Mix the chicken and meat broth.
3. Wash, dry and chop the cilantro leaves. Peel and chop the garlic and mash in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt. Chop the onions. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the onions till soft and golden then add the mashed garlic and the chopped cilantro as well as the dried cilantro. Stir-fry for a few seconds (till the pesto is fragrant),  then transfer to the broth. Heat the broth and drop the frozen mouloukhieh packages in the broth; bring to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes until the mouloukhieh leaves are warmed up.
4. Serve the soup with some cooked white rice, the chicken and meat pieces, a bowl of crumbled toasted pita croutons and a bowl of red vinegar  (or lemon) with a handful of chopped onion.

NOTE: There are  no set rules for how one is supposed to eat the mouloukhieh; growing up, every member of the family had his or her customized way; some people like to fill their bowl with croutons, then rice, then mouloukhieh then chicken and meat, then onion and vinegar. You get to decide!

The tricky part of making this dish is determining the amount of broth versus the amount of mouloukhieh; the soup itself is quite soupy, so if you find your soup thick and muddy add more broth. If on the other hand it looks too watery, add more mouloukhieh.

Finger-licking good and very versatile; there are many mfarket in the rural Lebanese cuisine repertoire, some with eggs baked on top of veggies, some without. The word meaning  to rub  something; today we are rubbing  some fried potatoes with some browned meat and onions.

INGREDIENTS: 4 servings

• 1 1/2  pounds of potatoes (preferred are yukon gold or similar variety)
• 1/3  pound of ground meat (fatty is fine)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Spices: salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp of  allspice and a dash of nutmeg
• 1 bouillon cube
• Oil, as needed

METHOD:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and fry the chopped onion until golden; add the meat and fry as well, separating it to keep it from forming big lumps  with a couple of wooden spoons. Add the spices to the meat and onion and stir to combine. Cook until the meat is browned and set aside, draining any extra fat.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut  in small cubes and drop in a bowl of cold water. Heat two cups of oil in a large skillet, drain the potato cubes well and dry in a kitchen towel. Fry in the hot oil until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
3. Combine the meat and potatoes and add one cup of hot water in which a bouillon cube has been dissolved. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes or so until the water has been absorbed. Serve hot or warm.

A mediterranean culture that mainly relies on whole-grains and vegetables is going to take full advantage of the special  day when a lamb is available to feast on; thusly, every part of the animal is cooked in one way or another and intestines are no exception.

Here, they are thoroughly cleaned with lemon, coarse salt and vinegar and stuffed with minced meat, rice and spices.

This is an exquisite dish and one of the most traditional in Lebanese cuisine.

It  was cooked by Asma, a Kurdish lady and one of the finest cooks I know. She carefully and methodically cleaned them, rubbing them with coarse salt, lemon, a few tablespoons of flour and a jiggle of vinegar to rid them of any attached fat, inside and out.

Then she stuffed them with a mixture of rice (medium-grain or sushi), minced meat, chopped onion  and spices. The spices used were allspice, cinnamon, black pepper and salt.

The stuffed intestines are placed in a pot and  covered with water seasoned with two onions studded with cloves, a few bay leaves and some quartered lemons (or the peel of an orange) as well as some black peppercorns. Cooked at a gentle simmer  until the stuffing expands.  (The stock is skimmed of any froth showing up at the surface).

These are often served under a layer of stuffed zucchinis. If cooked alone, they are served with their broth and some yogurt or a teaspoon of mashed garlic mixed with a teaspoon of dried mint.