Zaatar with pine seeds
Someone asked me if I had tried zaatar with pine seeds. Pine seeds? I knew pine nuts; pine cones; that was about it! Turns out it was a special type of zaatar that was sold in the Barouk Forest Reserve. Had to get the story on this one. This...
Read More »
Persian cheese ball
This is another Persian recipe from Najmieh Batmanglij that appealed to me; it contains lots of walnuts and herbs so it could easily be a light lunch or stuffed in a flour tortilla for quesadillas. Hope y’all had good holidays, personally I am relieved that they have come and gone. ...
Read More »
New Year’s fritters (Mushabbak)
Happy New Year 2013. Fritters, aka Mushabbak or Zlabiah INGREDIENTS: 8 servings 1 cup of flour 1 cup of cornflour 1 Tbsp. of dry instant yeast 1 Tbsp. of sugar 1/2 tsp. of cardamom (or mahlab) 1 liter (4 cups) of oil Sugar syrup: 2 cups sugar 1 cup...
Read More »
Chestnut soup
This is the soup we ate on Christmas Eve, made by my cousin Nicole who had lived most of her life in Paris (France) and moved back to Lebanon recently. One taste of that soup and I knew I would make it that week, it is that heavenly. Read...
Read More »
Eggplant fritters and dip
Once in a while, it is great to indulge. Eggplant is the one veggie that really gets enhanced by an oil bath. Crunchy crispy on the outside and silky smooth on the inside and dipped in a creamy yogurt and tahini dip. Why not? Happy holidays! INGREDIENTS: 4 servings...
Read More »
Knefeh ice-cream
Rushing to get things done on Christmas Eve and I want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! This ice-cream came from a deli in Beirut that has been around since 1955 called Aziz. It is called knefeh ice-cream; had a quick chat with the chef who invented it,...
Read More »
Garlic paste and a giveaway
This garlic mortar is used daily here in kitchens; years ago I even brought one back with me to California because I missed it and could not find it anywhere; now, these are sold in all Middle-Eastern grocery stores and I have since bought several. I want to stress...
Read More »
Split-fava bean casserole (Bessara)
I am taking advantage of my stay in Beirut to find out as much as possible about different dishes by asking great cooks around me; I also read cookbooks published in the Arabic language searching for recipes I have never seen before. This one, bessara, was interesting, and nobody around...
Read More »
Fruit oatmeal bars
Had to do something with all these fruits! Pears, quince, apples, all stored in the veggie bin and all getting a tad old. The neat thing with this recipe is it will work with any fruit, raw or stewed; so I used some stewed pears and quince and some...
Read More »
