Stuffed Cabbage Leaves (Mehche Malfoof)
An exquisite dish! the cabbage leaves meltingly tender and the meat and rice stuffing give a comforting feeling all permeated by the faint taste of lemon, garlic and mint. It can be partially cooked and frozen which makes it ideal for a party. This is Lebanese cuisine at its finest,...
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Kibbeh meat pie
Or what is commonly called kibbeh b’sanyyeh (kibbeh in a pan). I love the food processor! that way, instead of spending literally hours pounding and pounding in a corner of the kitchen like a slave I can get a kibbeh done in about 15 minutes if I plan ahead and have...
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Cilantro Pesto (Aliyyeh)
The Italians have their pesto, the French their pistou and the Lebanese have the cilantro pesto commonly called aliyyeh. It is a simple mixture of fresh garlic, cilantro and olive oil, sauteed for mere seconds till the fragrance is released and the ingredients bond together into a manageable paste. The...
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A Lebanese-American cooks…
Hi! Kifak? Ça va? I am Joumana. I grew up in Beirut back when Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the Middle East. My fascination with cooking developed when I was about 9 and was watching my grandmother Teta create food in our little kitchen. She lived with us, and since...
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Zaatar flatbread (manooshe)
For close to twenty years I could not go back to Beirut; I dreamt of this manooshe with zaatar and olive oil and tomatoes and cucumbers…baked fresh in the morning from the corner bakery…this pie encapsulated all of my nostalgic feelings..I still have to wait to get to Beirut to...
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How to eat!
I remember being taught how to break the “khoobz”(bread) around 6 or 7 years of age. Very simply, cut a small piece of pita bread, around 2 inches across, and pinch it: the object is to cup it in order to scoop out as much food as possible…at breakfast time we...
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Beirut, Lebanon
Roaming around Ain Mreisse with my friend Faysal, a budding playwright, chewing on many lahmajoons, and discussing literature and theatre …Sitting with my Teta Nabiha at a small table in Al-Ajami restaurant downtown savoring ever so slowly a rose-flavored booza (ice-cream)…going out to eat chicken shawarma at Marroush near the...
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