Which countries are part of the Middle East varies depending on who you ask. From a food perspective, the flavours of Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine (the Levant), Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar (the countries of the Arabian Gulf), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt (North Africa) all have a lot in common. The influences crosses borders to neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Xinjjiang in China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Sudan, Somalia, Zanzibar and Greece too; as well as the Middle Eastern/Arabic influence on Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines.
Lebanese Cauliflower Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! I love the deep-fried cauliflower often seen as part of a Lebanese mezze, but it can be a touch oily. So I usually roast my Lebanese cauliflower in the oven instead. Roasting gives the same great caramelised flavour with less mess and […]
Tomato Sauce Master Kitchen Basics & Explore New Cuisines & Ingredients with My Online Cooking Classes A good tomato sauce is a basic in every Mediterranean cuisine. Use it to poach Lebanese stuffed zucchini, to dress a simple pasta or gnocchi (see video below), layer into eggplant Parmigiana or lasagne or add a pinch of […]
Labneh Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! This popular Lebanese dip is sometimes referred to as a cheese, but it’s really just strained yoghurt (sometimes called hung yoghurt). It takes a day or so to make, but next-to-no hands-on time. Apart from yoghurt and salt, all you need is some […]
Za’atar Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Za’atar simply means thyme in Arabic and the smell of wild thyme crushed underfoot as you walk through the hills in Lebanon is one of the most evocative aromas. Za’atar as a spice blend is a mixture of dried thyme, sumac (a ground […]
Lebanese 7 Spice (Baharat) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! The classic seasoning in most Lebanese dishes is 7 Spice, also called baharat, and each cook and spice merchant has their preferred combination and ratio of spices. Many blends contain more than seven spices, as the “seven” may more literally […]
Laban Matboukh (Yoghurt Sauce) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Cooked yoghurt sauces are popular in the Levant, Turkey and parts of Central Asia. Some are stabilised with cornflour, but Middle Eastern food expert Anissa Helou recommends egg, which I prefer as it gives a very stable result without changing the […]
Shish Barak Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Shish barak are little meat filled dumplings cooked in yoghurt sauce, similar to Turkish manti. I find that the longer the dough rests the easier it is to work with, as the gluten relaxes so it’s less likely to spring back when you […]
Lahmacun Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Lahmacun (or lahmajun) is a contraction of ‘lahm bi ajeen’ literally meaning ‘meat with bread’; and these simple tasty flatbreads are also sometimes referred to as Armenian or Turkish pizza. The dough and lamb topping can also be used to make little Lebanese meat […]
Za’atar Manouche Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Flatbreads called manouche (or manakish, manaqish, man’ousheh and other variations) are a very typical Lebanese breakfast, though I love them as a snack at any time of day. Za’atar (see video below), the ubiquitous Middle Eastern seasoning of dried thyme, is the most […]
Ejjeh(Lebanese Omelette) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! In Lebanon, ejjeh (omelettes), typically filled with just green onion and herbs, are popular as a snack, part of a meze, or as a sandwich filling wrapped inside fresh pita – sometimes with a little extra green onion and parsley or onion and […]
