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301 recipes

Maghmour

In Lebanese villages from the Chouf to the Bekaa, maghmour turns up on the table during the long Lenten fasts and through the summer, when aubergines are piled high at every greengrocer. Chunks of fried or roasted aubergine collapse into a sweet, garlicky tomato sauce with chickpeas and plenty of olive oil, so the dish is soft and silky rather than chunky. Lebanese cooks serve it at room temperature with flatbread, pickles and a bowl of olives, and it tastes even better on the second day. Roasting the aubergine instead of deep-frying keeps it lighter without losing the melting texture. Common mistake: stirring hard once the aubergine is in; fold gently or it turns to mush. Chef's tip: add a final drizzle of good olive oil and a pinch of dried mint just before serving to lift the deep, sweet flavours.

75 min

Lebanese Vegetarian

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Kibbeh bil sanieh

When a Lebanese family is expecting a crowd for Sunday lunch, out comes the round tray of kibbeh bil sanieh, cut into diamonds before baking so everyone can lift a neat piece. Two layers of lamb and fine bulgur kneaded with onion and spices sandwich a filling of minced lamb fried with onions and toasted pine nuts; the top bakes crisp and brown while the inside stays moist. Serve it warm or at room temperature with yoghurt, cucumber salad or fattoush. Common mistake: using coarse bulgur, which won't bind; you need fine bulgur (number 1). Chef's tip: dip your hands in iced water while you press the top layer — it smooths the surface and stops the mixture sticking.

90 min

Lebanese Meat

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Znoud el sit

Lebanese sweet shops in Tripoli and Saida fry trays of znoud el sit every evening during Ramadan, and families queue for them after iftar. Filo is rolled around a thick, set milk cream (a home version of ashta), baked or fried until shatteringly crisp, then dipped in cold syrup and dusted with ground pistachios. The contrast of crackling pastry and cool, fragrant cream is the whole point, so eat them within an hour or two of filling. Common mistake: filling with warm cream; it leaks and makes the pastry soggy, so chill it until firm. Chef's tip: brush with clarified butter rather than whole butter — it browns evenly without burning and keeps the rolls crisp longer.

70 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Sujuk

Late-night sandwich counters in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut's Armenian quarter, fry sujuk on a flat-top until it crackles, toss in tomatoes and wrap the lot in thin bread with toum and pickles. Ready-made sujuk is usually dried and cured; this home version is a fresh, uncured beef sausage mix seasoned with garlic, cumin, sumac and Aleppo pepper and shaped into skinless fingers, so it cooks quickly and safely. It is just as good at breakfast with fried eggs. The common mistake is frying on a high heat from the start, which burns the spices before the meat cooks through. Chef's tip: chill the shaped sausages for 30 minutes first; they hold together and brown better.

60 min

Lebanese Meat

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Adas bi hamod

Adas bi hamod — 'lentils with sourness' — is a Lenten staple in Lebanese Christian homes and a thrifty weeknight pot everywhere else, especially in the south. Brown lentils simmer with chard, potato and a fried paste of garlic and coriander until the broth turns thick, then a generous amount of lemon makes it tangy and refreshing. It is somewhere between a soup and a stew and is just as good warm or at room temperature with bread. Common mistake: adding the lemon at the start; the acid stops the lentils softening, so add it at the end. Chef's tip: mash a ladleful of lentils against the side of the pot to give the broth body without any flour.

60 min

Lebanese Soups

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Kallaj

Kallaj appears in the sweet shops of Beirut and Tripoli only during Ramadan, when bakers sell paper-thin starch sheets to wrap around cream or cheese and fry for after iftar. Home cooks recreate it with filo: square parcels of thick milk cream, baked until they crackle, then soaked briefly in rose and orange-blossom syrup and finished with pistachios. Serve them warm, a few minutes after the syrup goes on, while the outside is still crisp. Common mistake: drowning them in syrup and leaving them to sit; spoon it over just before serving. Chef's tip: a cheese version — fill with half mozzarella, half unsalted ricotta — is just as traditional; choose a vegetarian-rennet mozzarella if you need it.

60 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Layali Lubnan

Layali Lubnan — 'Lebanese nights' — is the cool, wobbly pudding Beirut families make for Ramadan evenings and summer gatherings, because it is quick and feeds a crowd from one dish. A base of milk thickened with fine semolina and scented with orange blossom is topped with a thick layer of cream, then finished with pistachios, rose petals and a trickle of sugar syrup at the table. It is gentle and milky rather than very sweet; the syrup lets everyone choose. Common mistake: pouring the cream on while the semolina is still hot; it melts in and the layers blur. Chef's tip: whisk the semolina in slowly and keep whisking for the first minute — that is what keeps it perfectly smooth.

30 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Kabees lifit

No falafel or shawarma wrap in Beirut is complete without a few batons of kabees lifit, the crunchy, vinegary pickled turnips that glow pink from a slice of raw beetroot in the jar. Lebanese families put them up in autumn when turnips are young and sweet, and a bowl sits on the mezze table next to olives and green chillies. They are sharp, salty and crisp, and cut through grilled meats, fried kibbeh and hummus. Common mistake: using iodised table salt, which clouds the brine; use pure fine salt or sea salt. Chef's tip: choose small, firm turnips with smooth skins — big woody ones stay bitter however long they pickle.

25 min

Lebanese Basics

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Turmus

Strolling the Beirut Corniche or a Sunday market in Amman, you will pass carts selling turmus: plump golden lupini beans kept in salted water, scooped into paper cones and eaten by nicking the skin with your teeth and popping out the bean. They are also a fixture on mezze tables and a fasting snack for Lent. Dried lupins are naturally very bitter and must be soaked for days to wash those compounds out; never eat them while they still taste bitter, and if you are allergic to peanuts, check with a doctor first as lupin allergy is linked. A jar of ready-debittered lupini, drained and seasoned, is a quick shortcut. The common mistake is salting the beans before they are fully sweet, which seals the bitterness in. Chef's tip: finish with lemon, cumin and a little chilli just before serving; the salty brine keeps them, the dressing makes them moreish.

90 min

Lebanese Snacks & Starters

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Bizri

Fish restaurants on the harbours of Byblos, Batroun and Tyre bring bizri to the table within minutes of ordering: a heap of tiny whitebait, dusted in seasoned flour and fried so crisp you eat them whole, heads and all, with a squeeze of lemon. It is a mezze for sharing with fattoush, tahini sauce and fried pitta, usually while waiting for the bigger grilled fish. Buy the fish very fresh and keep it on ice until it goes into the pan. The common mistake is crowding the pan, which drops the oil temperature and leaves the fish greasy and soft. Chef's tip: toss the damp fish in flour in a sieve and shake off every bit of excess; a thin coating fries glassy-crisp.

25 min

Lebanese Fish

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Shanklish

Up in the mountain villages of northern Lebanon and around Tartus on the Syrian coast, families once made shanklish at the end of summer to keep milk through the winter. This home version starts from strained yoghurt (labneh), seasoned and dried into firm balls, then coated in za'atar and Aleppo pepper for a tangy, crumbly cheese with a herby crust. Crumble it over chopped tomato and onion, drown it in olive oil and eat it with bread for breakfast or as mezze. Because it is made from labneh rather than rennet cheese, it is fully vegetarian. Common mistake: rolling the balls while the labneh is still soft; it must be firm enough to hold a thumbprint. Chef's tip: dry the balls uncovered in the fridge for two extra days if you like a sharper, more crumbly cheese.

30 min

Lebanese Snacks & Starters

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Meghli

When a baby is born in Lebanon, the family cooks a big pot of meghli and hands out bowls to every visitor who comes to congratulate them; it also appears at Christmas in Christian homes. Ground rice is simmered with sugar and warm spices — caraway, cinnamon and anise — until it sets into a smooth, cocoa-brown pudding with no milk or eggs at all. Each bowl is topped with desiccated coconut and a generous pile of soaked walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts. Common mistake: walking away from the pot; ground rice catches and lumps fast, so it needs steady stirring. Chef's tip: soak the nuts in cold water overnight and peel the almonds; they turn plump and crisp, which is the hallmark of a good meghli.

50 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Bizcochitos de grasa

A paper bag of bizcochitos de grasa sits next to the mate gourd in kitchens, offices and roadside service stations across Argentina, from Buenos Aires to the Andes. These little rounds, a couple of bites each, are layered with beef fat, so they flake and crumble, salty and plain enough to eat by the dozen with bitter mate in the afternoon. The fat is rendered beef fat (grasa vacuna), so they are not vegetarian; ask your butcher for dripping or render suet yourself. A dough worked too warm is the mistake that robs them of their layers; the fat melts into it instead of staying in sheets. Chef's tip: chill the dough for 10 minutes between folds whenever it starts to feel greasy, and prick each round right through so it puffs in flakes rather than domes.

60 min

Argentinian Baking

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Salatet el raheb

Mezze restaurants along the Lebanese coast serve salatet el raheb as the fresh, chunky cousin of baba ghanoush: the aubergine is charred until smoky, then chopped rather than puréed and tossed with tomato, peppers, spring onion, parsley and a sharp dressing of lemon and pomegranate molasses. There is no tahini, so it is light and summery and sits well next to grilled halloumi or kebabs. Common mistake: leaving the aubergine juices in; drain the flesh in a sieve or the salad turns watery. Chef's tip: char the aubergines directly over a gas flame or on a barbecue rather than in the oven — the smoky flavour is the soul of the dish.

40 min

Lebanese Salads

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Arayes

Arayes are what Beirut grill houses and family barbecues do with kafta when they want something you can eat with your hands: pitta breads split and filled with a thin layer of lamb or beef mince mixed with onion, parsley and spices, then pressed and grilled until the bread is shatteringly crisp and the meat juices soak in. Cut into wedges, they come with tahini sauce, pickles and a tomato salad. Common mistake: spreading the meat too thickly — the bread burns before the centre is cooked; keep it about 5 mm. Chef's tip: brush the outside of the bread with the fat from the mince bowl or a little olive oil; it fries the pitta to a perfect crunch.

30 min

Lebanese Meat

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Yakhnet bazella

Yakhnet bazella is weekday food in almost every Lebanese household: cubes of lamb (or beef) simmered until tender with peas, carrots and tomato, with a last-minute hit of garlic and coriander, ladled over buttery vermicelli rice. Mothers in Beirut make it with frozen peas in winter and fresh ones in spring; children love its sweetness. Common mistake: adding the peas with the meat — they turn grey and mushy; put them in for the last 10 minutes. Chef's tip: brown the meat in small batches so it really sears; that browned base is where the stew's flavour comes from.

100 min

Lebanese Meat

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Hindbeh

Each spring, people in the Lebanese hills go out with a knife and a bag to gather wild chicory and dandelion for hindbeh, a Lenten favourite in Christian homes and a regular on mezze tables all year. The bitter greens are blanched, squeezed and fried with garlic in olive oil, then piled with a tangle of deeply browned, crisp onions and served with lemon wedges. The bitterness, the sweetness of the onions and the sharp lemon balance each other, and it is eaten at room temperature with bread. Cultivated dandelion or curly endive from a greengrocer works well. Common mistake: not squeezing the greens dry; water stops them frying and dilutes the oil. Chef's tip: fry the onions slowly and pull them out a shade lighter than you want — they keep darkening on the paper.

50 min

Lebanese Vegetarian

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Shorbet kishk

In the Bekaa Valley, late summer means spreading bulgur fermented with yoghurt on rooftops to dry, then rubbing it into kishk powder that keeps the family through winter. On a cold morning that powder becomes shorbet kishk, a thick, tangy, porridge-like soup eaten for breakfast with radishes, spring onions and flatbread to scoop it up. Meat-eaters often add preserved lamb (awarma); this version keeps it vegetarian with plenty of garlic and onion fried in olive oil. Kishk powder is sold in Middle Eastern grocers. Common mistake: adding the powder to hot water; it clumps, so always whisk it into cold water first. Chef's tip: finish with a spoonful of garlic sizzled in oil and a pinch of dried mint poured over each bowl.

30 min

Lebanese Soups

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Chinchulines

No proper Sunday asado in Buenos Aires province or the interior is complete without a round of achuras, and chinchulines are the boldest of them: beef small intestine, coiled on the grill and cooked slowly until the outside crackles like pork scratchings and the inside stays soft and rich with its own fat. Pass them round on a board with lemon and bread as a starter while the bigger cuts cook. Buy them already cleaned from a butcher or a Latin American meat counter, and rinse them again well at home. The usual mistake is too much heat: the outside burns long before the inside cooks. Offal must be cooked right through, with no soft, raw-looking parts. Chef's tip: simmer them briefly before grilling; it cleans them further, shortens the time on the coals and gives you a much more even crunch.

65 min

Argentinian Meat

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Mtabbal shamandar

Beirut's modern mezze bars made mtabbal shamandar a fixture next to hummus and moutabal: roasted beetroot blended with tahini, garlic, lemon and a little yoghurt into a magenta dip that is earthy, nutty and bright. It is quick to make and keeps well, so it is good for a weekend spread with warm flatbread, crisp cucumbers and radishes. Common mistake: boiling the beetroot, which waters it down; roasting in foil concentrates the sweetness. Chef's tip: add the lemon a little at a time and taste — beetroot varies a lot in sweetness, and the dip should taste lively, not sugary. Use plant yoghurt to make it vegan.

70 min

Lebanese Chutneys & Dips

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Trucha a la manteca

Restaurants on the shores of Nahuel Huapi, in Bariloche and Villa La Angostura, put rainbow trout from the cold Andean lakes on almost every menu, and this butter version is the one locals order most. Fillets are fried with crisp skin, then drenched in butter browned with flaked almonds and sharpened with lemon. Serve with boiled new potatoes and a green salad. Any trout or char works. People commonly start the fish in butter, which burns before the skin crisps; fry it in a film of oil and make the brown butter after. Chef's tip: dry the skin really well and dust it with rice flour; it gives a thin, glassy crust without any gluten.

25 min

Argentinian Fish

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Centolla gratinada

Centolla, the southern king crab hauled from the cold waters of the Beagle Channel, is Ushuaia's pride, and seafood restaurants along the harbour serve it gratinada: sweet chunks of leg meat in a light white sauce, crowned with cheese and browned under a fierce grill. It is rich, so serve it in small dishes as a starter with lemon and a green salad, plus crusty bread for anyone who can eat gluten. Buy cooked, frozen king crab legs or meat and thaw them in the fridge overnight; if you ever cook crab yourself, it must be alive when it goes into the pot. A frequent mistake is a sauce so thick and cheesy that the delicate crab disappears; keep it pourable and the cheese thin. Chef's tip: fold the crab in gently at the end, in big pieces, and let the oven only heat it; it is already cooked and turns stringy if it boils.

45 min

Argentinian Fish

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Mejillones a la provenzal

On the Atlantic coast around Puerto Madryn and the Golfo Nuevo, mussels from cold Patagonian waters are farmed and gathered in quantity, and seafood places along the rambla steam them a la provenzal, which in Argentina means lots of garlic and parsley. A splash of dry white wine goes into the pot; the alcohol mostly cooks off, but you can swap it for fish stock with a little lemon for an alcohol-free pot that tastes just as good. Serve with bread or chips to mop up the briny juices. Cooking mussels too long is the usual slip: they shrink and turn rubbery, so lift the lid as soon as most have opened. Before cooking, throw away any mussel with a broken shell or one that stays open when tapped; after cooking, discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: keep the garlic in gently warm oil until it just smells sweet; brown garlic turns bitter and dominates the mussels.

25 min

Argentinian Fish

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Kibbeh labanieh

In Lebanese homes, kibbeh labanieh is the dish that turns a batch of stuffed kibbeh into a comforting winter supper: the little torpedo-shaped shells of bulgur and lamb, filled with spiced mince and pine nuts, are poached in a silky yoghurt sauce scented with garlic and dried mint. It is eaten hot, ladled over vermicelli rice. The yoghurt has to be stabilised with cornflour and stirred in one direction while it heats, or it splits. Common mistake: letting the sauce boil hard before it has thickened; it curdles instantly. Chef's tip: make the kibbeh balls a day ahead and freeze them on a tray — they hold their shape better in the sauce.

95 min

Lebanese Meat

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