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.
Salmon Tails with Yoghurt Sauce Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! These salmon tails with yoghurt sauce are as easy and delicious as dinner gets. Salmon tail is a tasty and great value alternative to thicker pieces of fillet and, like all fish, is best cooked with the skin on – […]
Batata Harra (Spicy Fried Potatoes) Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Spicy batata harra is one of the most delicious potato dishes I’ve ever tasted; it’s popular as part of a meze and is great as a side dish with any meat, poultry or seafood. Traditionally the potato is deep-fried first […]
Fattoush Like this recipe? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Whenever I have stale Lebanese bread I generally turn it into pita crisps, then use some of them to make fattoush, one of the easiest and most delicious salads. There are as many variations on fattoush as there are Lebanese cooks. Some recipes include […]
Ful Medames Like Ful Medames? You’ll love my online Lebanese cooking class! Ful medames (فول مدمس) is a creamy Middle Eastern fava bean dip. Served with some fresh warm flatbread, yoghurt or labne, mint, cucumber and olives it’s one of my favourite breakfast dishes, and it’s a great addition to a mezze table too. Ful […]
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 fewer […]
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, layer into eggplant Parmigiana or lasagne or add a pinch of hot smoked paprika […]
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 muslin […]
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 tangy, […]
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 mean […]
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 […]
