This soup is so easy to put together and delivers the kind of homey flavor that is the hallmark of a great winter soup.

The ingredients are thrown in the pot and left to simmer slowly; right before serving, a burst of flavor is added (garlic, olive oil and fresh lemon juice).

Done!

Recipe courtesy of Mireille H. Doniguian La Cuisine du Moyen-Orient (adapted)

INGREDIENTS:  8 servings

• 2 cups of red lentils
• 4 large carrots
• 1 1/2 pound of swiss chard
• 1 tbsp of mashed garlic (chop the garlic and mash in a mortar with salt till pasty)
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large lemons, juiced

METHOD:

1. Place the lentils in a bowl and rinse under running tap water for a few seconds until clean. Transfer to a large pot, add 6 cups of water and bring to a simmer.
2. Peel the carrots and slice; add to the lentils. Cook the lentils and carrots for 40 minutes or so. Meanwhile, wash the chard and separate the stalks from the leaves. Stack the leaves and slice them into 1/4 inch ribbons and throw them in the soup pot. Simmer the soup another 20 minutes until the chard is cooked.
3. Right before serving, start heating the soup;  juice the lemons and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet, add the mashed garlic and stir-fry briefly for a few seconds without letting the garlic change color. Pour the garlic and olive oil in the soup and add the lemon juice.  Serve.

Some of us who grew up in Beirut may not have had this dish (we did not) and I am not exactly sure when it made its appearance or which community makes it. The fact is that it is really flavorful with a natural  sweetness imparted by the carrots and the tamarind in the sauce.

The tamarind paste used in this dish can be found in ethnic markets (Asian, Indian, Thai, etc). Best to get one that is pure tamarind. This fruit paste will last a long time wrapped tightly and is a very healthy food extracted from the pods of the tamarind tree.

Normally this dish is stuffed with medium-grain white rice and minced meat but I used maftoul, a wheat-based type of couscous;  a whole-grain’s rustic flavor pairs well with the carrots and the tamarind. Any whole-grain would work, provided you parboil it first.

INGREDIENTS: 8 servings

• 3 pounds of thick carrots
• 1/2 cup of maftoul or other whole-grain or rice
• 1/4 cup  of tamarind paste (3 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup of tomato paste
• 1/2 pound of minced meat (fatty if possible, 75/25)
• spices: 1 tsp of Aleppo pepper, 1 tsp of allspice, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp (or more) of salt
• olive oil, as needed

METHOD:

1. Peel and cut the carrots so they would be of equal size; place carrots (and broken carrot pieces) in a pot and cover with water; boil for 7 minutes and let cool in the water. The carrots need to be softened but not too soft or they will be impossible to core.
2. Place the maftoul or other whole-grain in a bowl and cover with boiling water to precook it and soften it. Drain it after 15 minutes or so and add the minced meat and spices and combine well. Core the carrots and stuff with the meat mixture, leaving a little gap at the end as the grain will expand. Place the carrots in a pot, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and sauté them for a few minutes. Dissolve the tamarind in 2 cups of the remaining carrot water with the tomato paste (don’t worry if it does not dissolve completely at this point) and pour over the carrots; you may add the insides of the carrots as well as the tips. Season the broth with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon and cover; simmer for 45 minutes until the stuffing is fully cooked. Serve warm.

NOTE: If you have leftover stuffing, shape it into small meatballs and drop in the sauce to cook alongside the carrots; include the inside of the cored carrots as well.

I had seen these banana flowers last summer in Tyre, our southernmost coastal city lined with banana plantations. As it turns out, they are consumed in many countries in Asia, just not in Lebanon (or the rest of the Levant for that matter).

These flowers are mild-tasting (like a Belgian endive without the bitterness) and have health benefits (click here to read up on those).

I saw curries made with the banana flower (India), salads (Vietnam and Malaysia). Well, it is close to 90C here, so a salad was more appropriate.

You need to peel the layers of outer skin and then you run into baby bananas, which can be either discarded or consumed provided you remove certain portions like the inside pistil and leaf; I chose to discard them today. The tender leaves inside are chopped and immediately dropped into a bowl with some lime or lemon juice, otherwise the leaves will turn black quickly.

To see how a banana flower is cut, click here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Large banana flower
• 2 Large carrots
• 2 Large parsnips
• 1 pound of large shrimp
• 1 Large shallot or 2 stalks of scallions
• 3 limes
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of yogurt
• 1 cup of assorted fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, mint)
• 4 cloves of garlic, mashed with a teaspoon of salt
• Salt, pepper, to taste, 2 teaspoons of sumac, a teaspoon of chili powder or paprika
• Rind of a lime

METHOD:

1. Peel and devein the shrimps; grate some lime rind on the shrimps, season them with salt, pepper and a couple teaspoons of sumac. Set aside. Peel and shred the carrots and parsnips and place in a big bowl. Squeeze the juice of the limes and set aside. Mince the fresh herbs and set aside.
2. Peel the outer banana leaves and cut from both ends. Cut the flower in half, remove the stalk and all the baby bananas and cut the inner tender leaves in very thin slivers. Place in a bowl with 3 cups of water and 1/4 cup of lime juice.
3. Make the dressing: Mash the garlic with some salt, add the yogurt and stir, add the olive oil and some paprika (or chili powder) and stir.
   
4. Parboil the carrots and parsnips a few minutes in a pot with 1/2 cup of water and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the veggies steam; uncover and allow the water to evaporate.
   
5. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and quickly pan-fry the shrimps. Add to the bowl of veggies. Add the drained banana flowers.
6. Pour the dressing over the shrimp and veggies and stir. Serve the salad at room temperature.

I will never eat insects. (Or so I thought).

I just had a big bowl of insects, fixed by yours truly!

Unwittingly, of course.

Do you know what silverfish is?

I did not. I simply grabbed a package of frozen silverfish at the Asian store (Vietnamese) thinking ” I will figure it out later”.

There was a salad recipe on the box and I made it. Delicious and very quick to make. The silverfish cooks in less than two minutes.

Well, these are delicious little insects.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound of silverfish, defrosted, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 bulb of garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup of red pepper flakes (I substituted Aleppo hot pepper)
• 5 tablespoons of oil
• 3 Tablespoons of oil
• 1 small red onion
• 2 large carrots
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup of roasted (unsalted) peanuts or other nuts
• 1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (I omitted it)

METHOD:

1. Mash the garlic cloves, cut up, in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt; add the pepper or chili flakes, mash a little more and add the oil. Set aside.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan and when hot add the silverfish and a couple of tablespoons of the garlic/chili pepper paste. Stir a bit and cook until the silverfish is white and firm, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Drain the silverfish, cool and place in a large bowl.
4. Shred the carrots and place in a bowl with the chopped onion. Add the vinegar and marinate for 10 minutes, then drain and add to the silverfish. Add to this the chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts or other nuts (I used walnut), sesame seeds, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce if using. Toss to combine well and serve. Serve with toasted sesame rice crackers if desired. (I would add more lime quarters to squeeze on the salad).

P.S: It does look like these are fish, not insects. Thanks to all of you who have informed me that these are baby eels! On the box it said silverfish and it should be silver fish, a type of fish imported frozen from China.

There is a Filipino sub-culture in Lebanon due to the large number of people who move there with employment contracts from the Philippines. Thanks to Jessica, a Filipino lady I befriended who lived in the country for fifteen years before going back home to marry, I discovered this wonderful dish, called pancit.

It is a comforting and delicious dish of  stir-fried veggies and rice noodles, with some shredded chicken and shrimp.

Pancit (the word means noodles in Tagalog) can be satisfactory or sublime; it all depends on the quality of the ingredients. The veggies for instance should be shredded very fine and not overcooked. The sauce needs to be seasoned with finesse and the chicken broth should be fresh and homemade, for best results.

Pancit can be made strictly with chicken; or with shrimp, or both. The veggies can be varied. It is a very versatile dish.

INGREDIENTS: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 package of rice sticks (8 ounces)
• 1/2 pound of large shrimps
• 1 chicken or several pieces of chicken with bones
• 2 cups each of shredded cabbage, carrots, snow peas, onion
• 1 Tablespoon of mashed garlic
• Soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil (optional), black pepper or red hot Aleppo pepper or hot paprika or chili powder
• to use for garnish: shredded scallions, quartered limes
• For the chicken stock: a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme or other herbs, some black peppercorns, garlic cloves, a medium onion

METHOD:

1. Make the chicken stock: (can be made one or more days ahead). Place a chicken in a large pot, douse in a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil and brown the chicken lightly on all sides. Add 6 to 8 cups of tap water to the chicken, a bay leaf, a few cloves of garlic, an onion, a few peppercorns and a sprig of thyme. Let the chicken simmer for one hour or longer in the covered pot until it is cooked. Cool, strain the stock and shred the chicken. If using a few pieces of chicken, shred them and discard the bones. Reserve 6 cups of the chicken stock for the pancit and the rest can be frozen and used for another dish.
2. Shred the cabbage by hand if possible into very thin slivers. Peel and shred the carrots and any other vegetable you pick. I used some snow peas and slice them lengthwise.
3. When ready to cook, gather all the ingredients; if using shrimps, peel the shrimps and reserve the peel and heads to flavor the stock. Sprinkle hot pepper on the shrimps and set aside. Place the shrimp peels (heads also) into the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes to flavor the stock. Strain the stock and set aside.

1. Heat a mixture of canola oil and sesame oil in a non-stick pot or wok. Add the chopped onion and stir until translucent. Add the shrimps and stir until the shrimps are firm and pink, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimps and set aside. Add the other shredded veggies, a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, the mashed garlic, and stir the veggies for two minutes until limp.
2. Remove the veggies and set aside. Add the chicken and shrimp stock and let it come to a simmer; drop the rice sticks in the stock and let the noodles soften about 4 minutes; add the veggies, shrimp and shredded chicken. Stir the noodles and veggies until they are well-mixed but still moist.
3. Serve the pancit with a garnish of chopped scallions and quartered limes.

NOTE: You should have plenty of stock to cook the noodles in and some leftover to keep the dish moist and yummy. Figure on at least 5 to 6 cups of stock for 8 ounces of rice sticks.

It happens to be cold and wet outside and you want something to warm you up and make you feel good.

That’s easy! Grab some lamb shanks and some turnip greens and get them going on the stove.

Did you ever eat the bone marrow of a lamb shank? You can pull it out with a knife and eat it as is or on a piece of bread. Try it and let me know! (just wait until it is thoroughly cooked!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 lamb shanks
• Turnip greens (with the turnips attached or not)
• 2 lemons
• a bunch of cilantro (2 ounces)
• 6 cloves of garlic, mashed with a teaspoon of salt
• olive oil, as needed
• one or two large sweet potatoes or a bag of carrots (1 pound)
• 1 large onion

METHOD:

1. Rub the lamb shanks with a cut lemon; sprinkle with salt, pepper and the spices of your choice (I used cinnamon, allspice and paprika)
2. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in the pot and brown the lamb shanks all around. Add the onion and cover the lamb shanks with water and a bay leaf and a couple of cloves of garlic. Cook on a slow simmer till the meat falls off the bone. Remove cartilage and fat from the pot.
3. Bring back to a simmer and add the turnip greens, previously washed and cut in large chunks. Simmer for one hour or longer, adding to the pot some turnips and (or) carrots (or) sweet potatoes cut in chunks.
4. At the end of cooking, swirl 1/4 cup of  previously prepared cilantro pesto in the soup. Serve with lemon quarters.

To make the cilantro pesto:

• 1 bunch of cilantro, leaves cut and chopped
• 8 to 12 cloves of garlic, mashed with some salt in a mortar
• olive oil

Heat some olive oil in a small skillet; add the mashed garlic and chopped cilantro; stir the mixture with a wooden spoon for a few seconds until fragrant; do not let it color. Turn off the heat and reserve.

TIP: Can freeze the unused portion for a few months, covered in a thin layer of olive oil.

This is the same soup, served over basmati rice flavored with turmeric and cumin.

The Chouf mountains are the one area of Lebanon that I missed the most as an expat; I missed the smell of the parasol pines and the constant creaking noise of the crickets, so relentless that we would stop hearing it.

We stopped by the side of the road to buy some prickly pears and there was one car parked ahead of us: a BMW with a couple inside; out comes a young woman in a sleeveless, bustier  skintight dress and spiked heels; beautiful and bronzed throughout; well this sight would have drawn stares and whistles  in my time: not anymore!

Another creation from darling Eva; she took some cabbage, carrots, potato and zucchini and made these delicious fritters. She served them as a side dish  but they could just as easily constitute your lunch with a salad and some olives.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Large potato
• 1 chunk of green cabbage
• 2 Large carrots
• 2 Large zucchinis
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bouillon cube diluted in a bit of water
• olive oil as needed
• 4 Large eggs
• pepper, as needed
• flour (2 or 3 Tablespoons)

METHOD:

1. Heat a bit of oil and fry the onion (this is optional). Grate all the vegetables fine. Place in a bowl.
2. Add the eggs, bouillon cube diluted in a tiny bit of water, pepper, flour and onion.
3. Heat some olive oil and fry a large spoonful of this mixture on both sides. Dry on paper towels and serve hot or at room temperature.

We ate this salad on a regular basis in Beirut and it was called salade russe (russian salad); it was served in a carved tomato, and consisted of a medley of  diced vegetables (peas, carrots, potatoes and beets), smothered in mayo.

Why was it called russian salad? did it truly come from the Russian cuisine? Was it brought to Lebanon by the Russian emigrés who fled the Soviet dictatorship in the 20s and that we called ” The White Russians”? I have no idea.

My version adds shrimp to the mix and a garlicky homemade mayonnaise, with a bit of curry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tomatoes, medium sized
• 1/4 pound of shrimp
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley (can use dill instead)
• 2 cups of diced carrots & peas
• one cup of homemade mayonnaise (recipe follows)

METHOD:

1. Carve the tomatoes with a serrated knife and a spoon and reserve the flesh for another purpose.
2. Lightly salt the tomato shells and set aside.
3. Prepare the mayonnaise  by placing some garlic cloves (about 3) in a blender, a dash of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Whirl the blender and add to it one egg white. Start whirling the blender for one minute until the mixture is creamy white. Add one cup of oil in a thin stream, very slowly, until the mixture is thickened and fluffy; add one more tablespoon of lemon juice and a dash of curry.
4. Cook the vegetables if frozen. Set aside. Fry the shrimps in a bit of oil and add to the vegetables; add the parsley or dill and some mayonnaise. Taste and adjust seasoning. Fill the tomato cups and serve.

Have you ever had fresh almonds? They are super crunchy and inside, the nut is soft and moist. We used to eat them doused in salt as a snack  out of school, buying  paper cone bags  from cart vendors.

The middle-eastern store is displaying mounds of these fresh almonds; Chef Marlene Mattar incorporated them in a salad with feta and arugula, so that’s how I want to eat them now, in a salad!

INGREDIENTS:

• a handful of fresh almonds
• a few carrots
• a few hard-boiled eggs
• a few olives

For the salad dressing:

• Fresh lemon juice (half the volume of the olive oil)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper

METHOD:

1. Peel and grate the carrots; place in a bowl
2. Wash the almonds thoroughly and let them air dry or pat them dry a bit. Cut in small slices.
3. Quarter the eggs; add all the ingredients to the salad bowl.
4. Mix the dressing, pour and serve.