Stuffed swiss chard leaves
I find it annoying that so-called dolmas are the only stuffed leaves known to the American consumer ; furthermore, they are most often than not stringy, rubbery, tough, greasy, little bundles. In reality, stuffed grape leaves and swiss chard leaves should always be meltingly tender! If you do not have...
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Semolina cookies with date (Maamoul)
We knew Easter was coming when our Teta (grandmother) was busy in the kitchen making these. Hers were unbelievably soft and crumbly and filled with the luscious and buttery date paste. She also made round ones with almonds and walnuts. I would sneak in and grab some when...
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Beet salad (Salatat Shmandar)
Several beets, orange or red (about 6 medium sized) 1 bunch of green onions, sliced Dressing #1: 1/2 cup of tahine paste in a jar 5 cloves of garlic, mashed with a dash of salt or 1 teaspoon of toom (see post) 1/2 cup of water 1/2 cup of lemon...
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Yogurt and cucumber salad
INGREDIENTS: 1 large jar of plain yoghurt several cucumbers, 1 teaspoon of dried mint, crumbled to a powder 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, mashed up with a tad of salt or 1 teaspoon of toom (see post) METHOD: Pour the yogurt in a bowl. Beat it a few seconds...
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Lentils and rice casserole (Mujaddara)
This dish is simple but wonderful. The Lebanese culinary lore claims that it was the dish for which Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob (Old Testament, book of Genesis). It is served especially during fasting ; considered a dish for the poor, because of the absence of...
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Stuffed zucchini in tomato sauce
If there is one dish that sums up Lebanese homestyle cooking, this is it! Humble yet delicious. It can be stuffed with meat and rice or meat only and served with a rice pilaf. I like to stuff it with the rice and meat combo, this way I can just...
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Zucchini Fritters (Ejjeh Koossa)
This is an absolutely scrumptious dish. We usually ate it the day after having the koossa mehche (stuffed zucchini in meat) as it is made with the pulp collected after coring the zucchini for koossa. It is eaten at room temperature stuffed in pita for a quick lunch or as...
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Spinach and rice quiche
In Beirut, growing up, we used to go out for Italian food all the time; either for pizza or at a cafe in Hamra for lasagna or escalopes milanaise. My mother’s friend who left Egypt after Nasser started nationalizing everything even opened a tiny hole-in-the wall in Hamra making fresh...
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Fig jam cookie roll
This cookie is a combination of rugelah and ma’amoul. I used a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s book Rose’sChristmas Cookies and given it a Lebanese touch by stuffing it with a traditional dried fig jam. The richness of cream cheese in the dough and fig jam and walnut in the...
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