Lamb and bean soup (Ab Gusht)
This soup is very popular in Iran (from where it originated) as well as in Iraq. I am reminded as I am posting this of my enchanting trip to Shiraz (Iran). The success of the trip I owed in major part to lovely Ava, who conducts food tours and cooking...
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Salmon quiche
I never would have thought of a salmon quiche if it wasn’t for my mother who used to make it fairly regularly when the family lived in France. It is a delicious quiche, much lighter than the original quiche lorraine, but still substantial enough (with the salmon) to be very...
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Cream of squash soup
This is a soup I decided to make (quick and easy) in order to recycle the pulp of the squash I cored and stuffed. Normally, the traditional use of the pulp in Lebanese households is to make fritters. I used an old recipe given to me by my cousin who...
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Kibbeh in yogurt
This is one of my favorite kibbeh dish and my grandmother used to make it to perfection, carving the small hollow kibbeh balls with a thin shell that one would break open and fill with the warm yogurt sauce flavored with mint pesto. A lot of people in Lebanon fill...
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Date energy cookies
This date “energy” cookie is a repackaging of one I made while in Lebanon, because it is easy and very popular there. It is actually even sold in bakeries, even though it is a traditional homemade treat offered when visiting friends or relatives in their homes. I just wanted it...
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Muhammara
This is one dish that we happily adopted from Syria, and most specifically Aleppo. It was originally served next to grilled kebabs, but it is not served simply as part of a mezze. It is supremely healthy, versatile and delicious; I just love it and make it on a regular...
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Fig jam
At the end of Summer in Lebanese villages, one could frequently see rows of figs drying in the sun on bamboo mats. Making this fig jam would eventually follow and jars of it would line-up the kitchen cupboard. This jam is not so much used the Western way like a...
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Fish kibbeh
This is not a kibbeh from Beirut . It is a dish from the northern capital, Tripoli, where people are really into fish and seafood due to the historic Tripoli port area teeming with fishermen and fish joints. I discovered it late and loved the idea and the kibbeh. Remember, kibbeh...
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Balila
Balila is the epitome of the poor man’s dish in Lebanon; it is served for breakfast in every neighborhood joint for the throngs of workers who eat it before heading to their job on the construction site or at the office. It is absolutely delicious and part of every mezze....
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