Chef Ramzi Choueiry was the first Lebanese chef to showcase the regional variations in traditional Lebanese cuisine; in his monumental Culinary Heritage of Lebanon he explored the country, stopping at remote villages and transcribing recipes local folks would give him.

This happens to be one of them, stunning in its simplicity: just fry pita croutons and onions in olive oil and douse in a little lemon. 

I sprinkled some sumac instead, since this spice was traditionally used as a substitute for lemon when citrus was not in season.

Pita is delicious fried and this simple recipe could be adapted by adding all kinds of veggies or topping an omelette or just about anything that could use some crunch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pita bread
• 1 or 2 large onions
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of sumac or 1 lemon
• salt, to taste

1. Using kitchen scissors, cut the pita bread in small squares. Cut the onion into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the pita squares; fry till golden-brown and crispy; remove the bread with a spoon and drain on paper towels;  fry the onion  slices until they become golden. Salt to taste and either squeeze a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice or sprinkle a tablespoon of sumac over the dish. Serve at room temperature or warm. 

Certain kitchen jobs are just not fun: Like plucking artichokes. Fortunately, the bottoms are available in all Middle-Eastern shops in the US or Canada and in every supermarket in Lebanon. 

These are filled with a spinach custard; baked and topped with a slice of hard-boiled egg; it would be great too with a poached egg come to think of it!

INGREDIENTS: 6 servings

• 1 bag of artichoke bottoms
• 1 pound of spinach, washed well
• 2 cups of milk 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 4 tbsp of unsalted butter
• salt, white pepper and grated nutmeg, to taste
• dash of paprika
• 1 cup of shredded swiss or other hard cheese

1. Boil the artichoke bottoms in salted and lemony water for 8 minutes or till tender; drain and set aside. Cook the spinach in 1/2 cup of water till wilted, drain and squeeze well; chop the spinach.
2. Make the white sauce: melt the butter till frothy, add the flour, stir and add the milk gradually stirring till creamy and thick; add the spices to taste. Add the spinach. Cool the mixture and whisk in 2 eggs then the cheese. Spoon into an ovenproof dish and onto each bottom. 
3. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 350F oven; serve with sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Seems like oatmeal bars (and cookies) are in the air; saw some over at Bo’s then at Oui, Chef. Had to make a Levantine version!

Cranberries are imported here (from the US) but can easily be replaced by dried cherries or apricot or raisins. These bars are chewy and the cranberries add a lot of sweet tanginess.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup of tahini (light-colored)
• 4 ounces of unsalted butter (125 g.)
• 4 tbsp of honey (raw is best)
• 1 1/2 cup of raw brown sugar or light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp of dark rum or vanilla or
• 1 tbsp of orange rind
• 3 cups of oats
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of cranberries
• 1 cup of pistachios (peeled if possible)
• 1 tsp of dukkat al-kaak or a mixture of ground anise, dash of nutmeg, dash of cinnamon

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. 

For those of you who dread the jolt that caffeine-laden Turkish coffee inflicts, there is  white coffee. White coffee is offered at get-togethers in Lebanon and it is simply boiled water with a few drops of orange blossom water (to taste) and sugar (optional).

In Lebanon there are a few major Turkish coffee providers (offered with or without cardamom) but I found only one with decaffeinated Turkish coffee. The option is to get your favorite decaf beans and grind them into a powder.

Incidentally, I discovered a great Turkish coffee sold online and in a coffee shop in California, made from organically grown beans in Ethiopia.  The name if this coffee is black goat and when I asked the coffee shop owner about the origin of the name, here is what she said: “Here’s the story behind our “Black Goat”..  When we first did our research about the history of coffee, we found out that it all originated with an Ethiopian goat herder who noticed that his goats were especially alert and active after grazing on a type of cherry bush. Later on, he reported his findings to the local monastery where the monks began experimenting with the beans and made a drink out of it so they can stay alert for the evening prayers. That’s when we started putting some names down for consideration and “Black Goat” was the perfect one.”

The method for making Turkish coffee is simple. You need to get a special pot (called rakweh), measure the volume of water equal to the volume of your cup or cups. Bring the water to a boil (sweeten it if you like) and drop a heaping teaspoon of coffee (per cup) into the water; stir and watch carefully; the coffee will froth and try to boil over. Remove the pot from the heat as soon as it does, scrape a bit of froth and deposit into each cup; return to heat and bring it to a boil two more times, stirring the pot each time it does. Set the pot aside a few minutes to let the coffee settle to the bottom and pour into each cup.

In the summer, when apricots are in season, most everybody in the villages makes apricot jam (partially cooked in the sun). The apricot season is very short and the apricots are extremely fragrant during that time. A tart is made with the apricot jam called mabroucheh in which the top layer of dough is grated onto the jam. Feel free to use that technique, but I would recommend freezing the dough for 15 minutes prior to get it hard enough to grate on a box grater (big holes).

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of flour
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tbsp of dry milk powder (optional)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp of sugar
• rind of a lemon (2 tsp)
• 2 or 3 tbsp of whipping cream or sour cream or labneh or whole milk
• 1/2 cup of butter cut into small dice (4 ounces or 125 g.)
• 1 cup of apricot jam or more as needed

1. Place the flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Mix for a few seconds to combine and aerate the mixture; add the cut-up butter and mix a few more seconds until the dough looks sandy. Add the egg and cream and lemon rind and mix till the dough becomes compact and leaves the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for one hour or longer.
2. Grease and flour tartlet pans; take one tablespoon of dough at a time and flatten with the palm of your hands, pressing it onto the tartlet pan to fit the bottom and the sides. Keep one third of the dough to use as bands on top of the jam. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer; spoon some jam onto the tartlets. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into long shreds, cutting the shreds to fit the tartlets sideways. Pat them onto the tartlets. 
3. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes or until the tartlets are golden and crispy. Cool and serve.

 Today a man was offering homemade products from his village: Carob molasses, orange and rose water, tomato paste, olives, olive oil etc. When I asked him “How much” he replied “I will give it to you for free, my mother made these”. So I offered him what I thought was a great price for the lot, except I turned down his olive oil since we get our own. He started rattling off the sad story of his sister who needed an operation and how her disease got started and how it was getting worse and worse and how much each shot to save her  was going to cost him (medicine straight from France); I said I was very sorry about his sister, but had no more money to offer him. His sister’s condition got more urgent by the minute and I was told that he did not want any money for anything, it was all free, except I had to pay for the olive oil (triple what I was offering). He added that he had a good job, naming the firm he was working for, but thank God they had a small plot of land and could produce these and help their sister, etc etc. 

Exhausting.

Plain and rustic, this dish is from rural areas in Lebanon; it is thought to have been the precursor to tabbouleh, since it is a bulgur pilaf scooped up in a cabbage leaf. It contains chopped nuts, onions, bulgur and cabbage. It lends itself to some  sprucing up with spices or a dash of  pomegranate molasses. 

This version is adapted from a recipe transcribed by Chef Ramzi  in his Culinary Heritage of Lebanon. It is prepared in the Hermel region.

INGREDIENTS: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 small cabbage (the equivalent of 3 cups shredded)
• 2 cups of chopped walnuts (can substitute almonds or pecans or pine nuts)
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 2 cups of  bulgur (can use coarse as well, #2 is best)
• 1 tbsp of chili paste
• 1/2 cup of olive oil (or more as needed)
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses (optional)

1. Cook the cabbage in several cups of boiling water or steam till tender; drain and shred finely.
2. Brown the onions in olive oil till almost caramelized. Wash the bulgur under running tap water and cover with hot water for 30 minutes. Drain. Add to the skillet with the onions and cabbage. Add the nuts and chili paste and other spices if desired (salt, pepper, cumin, pomegranate molasses). Stir-fry in olive oil for a few minutes and serve at room temperature or warm as desired. You can serve with additional cabbage leaves to scoop the bulgur pilaf. 

NOTE: If you are using coarse bulgur, soak it in boiling water.

Beirut and Lebanon in general are  seriously  lacking in North African restaurants or foods from the Maghreb; it is easier to find a can of harissa in Dallas than in Beirut! 

So imagine the thrill I felt when Leyth Hazgui,  from the resort town of Hammamet, flagged me about his native ftira, with a recipe to boot. 

Ftira is a bread made with a mixture of semolina and regular wheat flour. The dough is shaped into small disks and fried.  Puffed up, with a crisp shell and a chewy interior, it is devoured  hot with  honey, powdered sugar, or  some chocolate sauce drizzled on top. 

The neat thing here is that the donut itself is not sweet; the contrast between the crunchy/chewy bread and the sweet chocolate sauce is irresistible. Have a strong cup of coffee and you are set for a delightful  morning. 

Recipe from Tunisie Presse.

 INGREDIENTS: Makes about 22 donuts

• 250 g. of semolina flour (fine) (8.8 ounces)
• 250 g. of regular all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of dry instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cup of lukewarm water
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of salt

METHOD:

1. Place the semolina and wheat flour in the bowl of a food processor or mixer with the salt and mix to combine well. Place the yeast and sugar in a small bowl with 1/2 cup of water and stir to mix; cover the bowl and let it froth for about 15 minutes. When frothy and bubbly, pour the yeast and olive oil in the bowl of flours and combine well, adding more of the water. Process for several minutes. Transfer to a work area and knead some more if necessary until the ball of dough is as smooth as baby skin. 
2. Transfer the ball of dough to a bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of oil, flip the dough to cover it with a thin film of oil and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set is aside for a few hours or overnight. 
3. Punch the dough down to de-gas it and roll it into a large circle, about 1/3 inch high. Cut circles of dough. Heat a few cups of oil in a pot and when hot (about 375F) drop the circles of dough into the pot. Fry for 4 minutes total or until the donut is golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with honey or chocolate sauce or powdered sugar.