This post is not a recipe. I just wanted to spotlight one of the reasons I love Spring – tender young unripe chickpeas. When I found these at our local Korean supermarket a couple weeks ago, I got so excited. We took them home and roasted them in the oven, with nothing added to them. We then spent an evening, popping them out of the pods and … [Read more…]
Hummus
Warning – a bit of a silly rant ahead….. One of my pet peeves is the current fad of calling almost any sort of Mediterranean-looking dip “hummus”. These days, they don’t even need to contain tahini. Pinterest is FULL of pins to recipes for black bean hummus, avocado hummus, zucchini hummus – I am very particular with what I consider hummus. If … [Read more…]
Avocado Garlic Dip – Avocado Muthawama
Do you need another dip for your mezzeh spread? Well, here you go. This dip goes VERY well with grilled meats and fish. We had this with our BBQ’ed chicken over Easter break, and it is a twist on muthawama (garlic potato dip). This is an avocado version which is slightly mellower, yet still has lots of garlic flavor. Avocado Garlic … [Read more…]
Helba – Fenugreek Cake Bars
This is my first dessert/sweet post on this blog. I think Helba is a good introduction to Levantine sweets. Helba is a traditional sweet, dense cake bar made of fenugreek seeds and sweetened with a sugar syrup. This is a completely vegan dessert. You will note that the cake itself only has 1 tablespoon of sugar that is dissolved with the … [Read more…]
Saturday Brunch – Bakdounsiya – Parsley Dip
Bakdounsiya is a common sight in a Levantine mezzeh spread. It is typically eaten with pita bread, just like hummus or any of the other mezzeh dips. It goes very well with grilled meats. If you thin this out a bit more, it would be a good sauce or dressing to drizzle on top of grilled kofta, kabobs, fish, or falafel. Bakdounsiya – Parsley … [Read more…]
Cauliflower Fritters – Emshaat
Cauliflower Fritters – Emshaat I love cauliflower. It is very versatile, and can stand in for chicken to make many recipes vegetarian. In fact, when my son was 3, and I made the following recipe, he thought he was eating chicken. As long as he was eating his vegetables, I really didn’t care what he called it 😉 Several types fritters are … [Read more…]
Hummus with Parsley
16 ounce canned Chickpeas, drained, reserving liquid 1 small clove garlic 2 tablespoons Tahini 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil Juice of half a lemon 1/2 cup parsley salt to taste More extra virgin olive oil for serving Pour chickpeas into blender. Add reserved liquid, to half the level of the chickpeas. Add garlic, tahini, olive … [Read more…]
Kofta with Tomato Sauce (Mediterranean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce)
This is a tray bake of kofta with potatoes, onions, and tomato sauce. I’ve previously posted a Kofta with Tahini recipe, which is pretty much the same thing, but with a different sauce. This dish can be assembled the night before, and then popped in the oven after you get home from work, so it is a good weeknight option. This is very good … [Read more…]
Saturday Morning Brunch : Potato Egg Frittata (Batata wa Beid)
We make frittatas for a brunch or light dinner often. Potato Egg Frittata in particular is one of my husband’s comfort foods, so it is one that we make most often. I consider it a pantry meal, since it is made with things I have on hand all the time. That makes it convenient for those times we have been running lots of errands and it is suddenly … [Read more…]
Saturday Brunch : Fava Bean Dip – Ful
Fava beans (both fresh and dried) are very extensively used in the Mediterranean region, in cooking, salads, and dips. In Arabic (الفول) , it is pronounced fool, and can be spelled ful/fool/foul. I am choosing to go with “ful”, because well, it isn’t confusing with another, less-tasty, meaning 🙂 It is very nutritious, and very hearty and … [Read more…]