Lebanese Recipes:

It is with food that the Lebanese express their generosity and hospitality. The most casual caller is immediately offered a cup of coffee and even the unexpected visitor is pressed to stay on for an ample meal, which generally consists of a variety of dishes and can always be produced at extremely short notice.

The secret to mastering Lebanese cuisine lies in the preparation and organization of the menu and in the fact that Lebanese dishes store and reheat well.

The Lebanese cook always prepares several dishes in advance and stores the basic mixtures so that they can be combined with other food items to quickly make a full meal. Every household has a constant stock of pickles, olives, cheese, yoghurt, nuts, grain, herbs and spices.

Nearly every part of the raw product is utilized. In fact there is so little wastage that a small selection of raw food is sufficient to create a large variety of substantial dishes.

For example, five substantial meals for four people or an impressive spread for about ten people can be made with a large leg of mutton, ten tomatoes, ten zucchini, crushed wheat, rice, a few eggs, nuts, spices and herbs. To do this, the leg of mutton is boned and a broth made with the bones. The lean part of the meat is then minced and mixed with crushed wheat to make two varieties of kibbi, the national dish. The remainder of the meat is chopped and ground. Half of it is mixed with nuts and used as a filling for the tomatoes. The remaining meat, mixed with rice, is used to stuff scooped out zucchini….etc….

The main meal in Lebanon is usually served in the evening, but on weekends and public holidays it may be eaten at midday. A man meal is always served when guests come to the house, whatever the time of day.

At the beginning of the main meal mezza (hors d’oeuvres) are served with drinks.

Mezza consists of a large variety of nuts, pickles, cheese, and other foods, displayed in small dishes from which it is picked up with the fingers.

Mezza is an important part of the Lebanese social life. It is a leisurely, relaxing period in which eating and drinking is accompanied by congenial conversation …etc…

A light meal is generally a bowl of soup or a cooked vegetable or grain dish, with accompaniments such as cheese, olives, salad vegetables and yoghurt. Sandwiches made from Lebanese bread are also very popular.

Extracts and recipes taken from:
- Dawn, Elaine and Selwa Anthony - Lebanese Cookbook - 1999
- Man’oushé - Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery
- Middle Eastern Cuisine, Sima Osman Yassine and Sadouf Kamal
- Rayess' Art of Lebanese Cooking

Interesting DVD Film about the Lebanese Cuisine; can be ordered by clicking here

Click on one of the following links to get the recipe.

▪ Arabic Bread
▪ Atayef Ashta
▪ Baba Ghannouj
▪ Baked Fish In Tahini Sauce
▪ Beetroot and Tahinah Salad
▪ Bitter Orange preserve
▪ Bouillabaisse Fish Soup
▪ Bread Sweet Aish Al Saraya
▪ Bur'ghul & Lentil Soup
▪ Cheese Pie
▪ Chicken With Chick Peas & Rice
▪ Chickpeas with Crumbled Bread in Oil
▪ Cinnamon Tea
▪ Curd Cheese Pie
▪ Distilling Arak
▪ Dough Balls Syrup
▪ Dough for Bread
▪ Eggplants and Tomatoes in Oil
▪ Fattoush Peasant Salad
▪ Fresh Fava Beans, Lima Beans in Oil
▪ Fried Lamb's Liver
▪ Green Bean Stew
▪ Green Thyme Salad
▪ Holiday Soup
▪ Hoummous Bi Thini
▪ Jew's Mallow in Chicken
▪ Kafta On Skewers
▪ Karabeej of Aleppo
▪ Karkadeh Juice
▪ Kibbi B'Zait
▪ Kibbiyet
▪ Kishk Pie
▪ Knaafeh String pastry with cheese
▪ Lahem Mishwi
▪ Lamb Spinal Marrow
▪ Lamb Tongue Salad
▪ Lebanese Turkish Coffee
▪ Lentil & Rice Pilaf
▪ Lentil & Spinach Soup
▪ Maamool B'Jowz
▪ Meat Preserve Pie
▪ Moughrabia, Lebanese Couscous
▪ Okra in Oil
▪ Paper Thin Bread
▪ Pumpkin Soup
▪ Salep Sahlab
▪ Semolina & Yoghourt Slices
▪ Sesame Seed Bread
▪ Shawarma
▪ Spicy Raw Kibbeh
▪ Spicy Rice For Fish
▪ Spinach Soup
▪ Spinach Turnovers
▪ Strained Yogurt Pie
▪ Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
▪ Stuffed Zuchini In Tomato Sauce
▪ Swiss chard with Black-eyed Beans
▪ Tabbouleh
▪ Tamarind Juice
▪ Walnut Chilli Dip
▪ Wheat Sweet Sauce
▪ White Bean Soup
▪ Wild Thyme Pie
▪ Zucchini & Egg Fritters