Pine nut and garlic sauce
Brought back a stash of pine nuts with me in my luggage, dutifully declared at customs. Pine nuts in Lebanon are so good! They always bring back fond memories of entire summers spent in Ain Zhalta (Shoof area) treasure-hunting these delightful snoobar. We’d grab a pine cone that seemed...
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Jellab drink
One thing I can’t wait to experience when I go back to Beirut: drinking a jellab! Back in the sixties and seventies, we used to order it at the Riviera, one of the many beaches that studded the coastline right outside of the city. A waiter would approach and present...
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Apricot jam, solar
Words cannot convey the heavenly perfume emanating from these abricots, locally picked in the Chouf region (about 40 km south-east of Beirut) . If I could invite everyone to dip their head in the basket and inhale. What an experience! Designers would start selling apricot fragrances. I would love...
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Semolina and coconut cake (Basboossa)
Basboossa is the equivalent of the Arab world’s pound cake. Very rich and dense, delicious, yet simple to make and requiring only four basic ingredients: semolina, yoghurt, sugar and butter! It is a dessert that elicits a sigh of longing when it is mentioned to Egyptians like my...
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Lemons in Lebanon
Got some lemons today. Their fragrance was reaching my nostrils one foot away…. I asked ” men weyn? (from where?) …”from Saida” I was told. They must have been freshly picked. I brought a leaf up close. It was heady with lemon perfume. OK. Here is the deal. In...
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Apricots stuffed with cream
Talk about an easy and delicious dessert! I had it in Beirut at a fancy restaurant and my friend Hoda vowed to try to make it at home. So, a few days later she invited me to come over to her place in Mosaiytbeh in West Beirut. She assembled it...
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Tamryeh
Almost everyone you meet in Beirut comes from a specific village outside of the city. My family is no exception. On my mother’s side, our roots are in Deir el-Kamar, also known as the City of Emirs (Princes); in my own prejudiced view, it is the most beautiful small town...
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Muhammara
Originally served alongside kibbe balls, now muhammara is served as a dip or part of a mezze, with some toasted bread. I think it is originally from Aleppo, Syria. In any case, like hummos, it is a very personal and subtle combination of flavors and spices and you will...
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Mayrig (Armenian restaurant)
Mayrig means “little mother” in Armenian. It is also the name of a fabulous restaurant in the neighborhood of Gemmayze in Beirut. Tucked away on Pasteur Street, inside a small courtyard, the authentic Armenian restaurant is housed in a magnificent old house, with stained-glass windows and painted concrete floor...
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