Lebanon: Recipes and Cuisine
Lebanese cooking represents the heights of Middle Eastern cuisine. This is the Mediterranean diet at its best, with a heady mix of olive oil, whole grains, vegetables, beans and lean meats and fish. Many of the iconic Middle Eastern dishes -- falafel, shawarma, hummus, tabouli -- are basics of the table in this small country. Many meals are served as a variety of mezze, or little dishes. Lebanese sweets and pastries are famous around the world, followed up with a strong cup of coffee or bracing, anise-flavored arak.
Lebanese Recipes
Baba Ghanoush
(Middle Eastern eggplant dip)
Baba ghanoush is a very popular appetizer and dip in the Middle East. Its smoky, rich flavor of the eggplant goes well with wedges of pita bread or with raw vegetables. Try using it as a sandwich spread or rolled up in wraps. Read more »
Dibs Rumman
(Middle Eastern pomegranate molasses; see Rob e-Anar recipe)
Falafel
(Middle Eastern fried chickpea patties)
Falafel is the original veggie burger and is a common dish throughout the Middle East. It is found in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Egypt, and is especially popular with Palestinians. In Egypt it is known as tamiyah or taamiyah. Israelis sometimes call it the "national food of Israel." Read more »
Fattoush
(Arab tomato and cucumber and bread salad; see Horiatiki Salata variations)
Hummus bi Tahina
(Middle Eastern chickpea and sesame dip)
Hummus is popular appetizer, or meze, throughout the Middle East. Serve with grilled or toasted pita bread cut into wedges. Or use as a sandwich or wrap spread. Read more »
Kefta
(Middle Eastern spiced meatballs)
Spiced meatballs are common in one form or another from Morocco in the west through the Middle East (kefta or kufta), to Greece (keftedes), Turkey (köfte), Armenia (kyufta), Iran (kufteh, or koofteh) and all the way to India (kofta) in the east. All names for these little balls of wonder derive from the Persian verb kuftan, which means "to grind." Read more »
Loubieh bi Zayt
(Lebanese green beans and tomatoes; see Fassolakia recipe)
Muhammara
(Middle Eastern spicy roasted pepper dip)
Muhummara is popular condiment and dip in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria. Serve muhummara with grilled meats, fish and kebabs, or as a spread or dip for bread or pita. In western Turkey it is called acuka. Other spellings are moohummara or muhammarah. Read more »
Pita
(Mediterranean pocket bread)
Pita bread is common throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Versions of this simple round loaf are found from Northern Africa to as far east as India. The popularity of pita, also known as khoubz araby, is said to have been spread eastward and westward by the conquering armies of Alexander the Great. Read more »
Shawarma
(Middle Eastern spiced meat sandwich)
Shawarma is popular throughout the eastern Mediterranean and is sometimes called the Middle Eastern taco. It originated in northwestern Turkey as döner kebab. But it reached its current form and popularity with the Turkish population in Germany. The sandwich is now found in a variety of forms around the world. Read more »
Tabouli
(Middle Eastern bulgur and parsley salad)
An easy, refreshing and healthy salad, tabouli is made of bulgur wheat, finely chopped parsley and scallions dressed simply with lemon juice and olive oil. The dish goes by various spellings including tabbouleh, taboule, taboulleh, tabouleh, and tabboulleh. Read more »
Taratour
(Middle Eastern sesame sauce)
Taratour is a favorite sauce in the Eastern Mediterranean. Serve it with shawarma, fish, falafel, kefta or over vegetables. Sometimes spelled taratoor or tarator. Read more »
