Green almond stew
This recipe comes from my friend Asma’s mother, Halime. It is from her native village of Omarli in Turkey, where she was born some 95 years ago. It is Kurdish in origin. Fresh almonds in Lebanon are either consumed as a snack or brined. I was quizzing Halime on her life...
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Strawberries Romanoff
This is a retro dessert featured on the menus of continental fine-dining restaurants around the globe; kind of like tiramisu is now. It was supposedly named after the Romanoff line of czars in Russia, but frankly I did not dig into history books to give you the exact scoop. I just...
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Shrimp cocktail
It has been getting warm in Beirut these days and the idea of a shrimp cocktail was appealing. I love, just love cajun food, and thought of combining shrimp cooked New Orleans-style with the garlicky labneh I had earlier. Why not? It turned out fine, the contrast of fiery shrimp...
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Labneh with garlic
Labneh is such an integral part of the Lebanese table for breakfast, it is sometimes easy to overlook other ways to use it. In Lebanon, it is also served as a mezze, in a form called mtawameh, literally meaning garlic-infused. That’s when I love it best. I added fresh chopped...
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Loquat fruit
Have you ever had loquats? The perfect Spring fruit in Lebanon, it is available at all the greengrocers and is hanging in many loquat trees around the capital. It is the most delightful fruit and is originally from China (don’t really know how it found its way to the Near East)....
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Shrimp salad
Celebrity global French chef, chef of all chefs, Alain Ducasse, did something stunning. No he did not throw his toque into his fireplace. He simply removed all meat items from his menu. La planète a des ressources rares, il faut la consommer plus éthiquement, plus équitablement (Planet earth has limited...
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Quinoa hotcakes
Wild fresh dill (shomar) is plentiful in Lebanon this time of year. I had no excuse whatsoever not to pick a good handful (it smells like anise when rubbed slightly), and make these hotcakes. It is the traditional way in the rual areas to forage wild dill and make fritters with some added...
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Wild dill (Shomar)
In the Spring and into the early Summer, wild edible herbs and flowers are to be found all over the mountains in Lebanon. Amongst them, wild dill (shomar), is commonly made into fritters in the rural areas and villages. All it takes is one walk and thirty minutes later, a...
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Easy cabbage soup
Do you sometimes look at a recipe and think “no way”, or “it would probably taste gross”. Well, this had been my curse with cabbage soup. As much as I LOVE coleslaw, and raw cabbage salads, I could not envision cabbage soup tasting, well, decent. I was so wrong! This...
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