Middle Eastern and North African Cuisine and Recipes
The cuisine of the Middle East in general falls under the rubric of “Mediterranean” cuisine, that heart-healthy combination of olive oil, fresh vegetables and fruit, cheese and moderate amounts of fish and poultry. Many of the dishes of the Middle East — tabouli, falafel, pita, hummus, baba ghanoush — have become popular beyond the region, especially in Europe, North America, Australia and parts of South America.
Middle Eastern cuisine itself breaks down into several subcategories. Among those are the cooking traditions of the Levant, Egypt, the Arabian peninsula, the Maghreb, Iran and Israel. Ingredients common to most of these cuisines are honey, parsley, mint, sesame seeds, eggplant, tomatoes, rice, bulgur wheat, couscous, chicken, pigeon, lentils, chickpeas, dried fruit, figs and dates. Pork is avoided and beef is rare.
Algeria: Recipes and Cuisine
The cuisine of Algeria is part of the Maghreb tradition of Northwestern Africa. Algerian food is a mix of various influences, from Berber to Arabic to French to Jewish. Most cooking is centered around spicy couscous which is served with long-simmered meats and stews. Algerian meals are often finished with dates and fresh fruit. The palette of ingredients is essentially Mediterranean, including lamb, chicken, tomatoes, olives, peppers, eggplant, lentils, oranges and lemons. Spicy Algerian merguez sausage is famous around the world. Read more »
Egypt: Recipes and Cuisine
Egyptian cuisine goes back 5000 years to the time of the pharaohs. The pyramid builders survived on a diet of onions, garlic, coarse bread and beer. Beer is now out of the picture, but those other basic ingredients, supplemented by tomatoes, okra, eggplant, favas, lentils, pasta and rice, still form the foundation of Egyptian food today. Meat has always been spare for Egyptians given the small sliver of grazable land either side of the Nile. But dairy cattle provide a variety of farmer-style cheeses, and dishes using domesticated pigeon are favorites. Read more »
Israel: Recipes and Cuisine
Jewish culinary traditions often date back to Biblical times. Yet while Jews as a people have endured for over 3000 years, the modern state of Israel is relatively young. That coupled with the instability of the Palestinian conflict, have made it difficult for a truly national Israeli cuisine to develop. Nevertheless, a steady influx of Jewish immigrants from around the world has made for an exotic mix of flavors on the Israeli table and in the street.
