Tomatoes with sumac dressing
These tomatoes are called here jabalieh from jabal which is the word for mountain. They are huge and start appearing now at every stall in every mountain village. A traditional and scrumptious way to dress them is to slice them and make a sumac dressing: INGREDIENTS: 4 servings...
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Rose and chocolate shake
This is a simple shake, part dark chocolate, part rose ice-cream; no need to make your own rose ice-cream, just add some rose syrup to vanilla ice-cream until the taste feels right to you; I also added some rose petal jam which is usually available in any Middle-Eastern store....
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Stuffed zucchini (Mehshi koussa ablama)
Lebanese zucchini is tiny and almost sweet; this dish is considered comfort food here and the zucchinis are sold in supermarkets already cored to save people time. I had found a small battery-operated zucchini (and eggplant) corer at an Iranian bazaar in Beirut, but when I showed it around,...
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Kibbeh tartare (Kibbeh nayyeh)
I was invited to a (fancy, classy) wedding and lo and behold I see this lady sitting in the buffet line, making kibbeh the traditional way, in the jurn. That is what this huge stone mortar is called. She was pounding away to produce the silky smooth kibbeh that...
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Peach cupcake
Carole, at Alter Gusto, is one of my favorite French bloggers (she edits her blog straight from Marseille); she made a classic loaf cake with apricots, olive oil and orange blossom water. I simply substituted peaches. We are blessed with a glut of peaches this Summer. You will...
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Candied hibiscus
I love the idea of snacking on flowers, don’t you? Especially when these flowers are supposed to be so beneficial to one’s blood pressure and all kinds of other conditions. I found these in a Beirut supermarket sold in bulk. They are chewy, sweet and sour. Perfect to...
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Pasta with shrimp and avocado sauce
Summer is a perfect season for relaxed, no-fuss, cooking; this salad was prepared at the last minute with ingredients in my pantry and freezer; shrimp, whole-wheat boxed pasta, broccoli, avocados, and a medley of basic spices. Hearty but not heavy. Served with an avocado sauce just because I had...
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Date cake with milk sauce
I love dates and I never tire of them; here in Beirut one finds in all the pastry shops (especially now during Ramadan) dates stuffed with all sorts of goodies and beautifully packaged for gift-giving. This cake is a great way to use leftover dates; you simply chop them...
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Ultimate Lebanese burger
Everyone these days is at the beach or by a pool; I missed Fourth of July this year and so I was daydreaming about what the Ultimate Lebanese Burger would taste like. For one, it would have some m’tabbal aka baba ghannouj aka eggplant caviar in lieu of mayo and...
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