pomegranate-molasses

The Lebanese alternatives to lemon juice

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by • Featured, Tips • Tags: , , ,

I was inspired to write this blog post when Olivia, the mother of a colleague, sent me a bottle of grape verjuice (hamod el hosrom) for me to try with Tabbouleh instead of regular lemon juice. She knows I’m a foodie and she has been interacting with me ever since I launched my blog.

I am an eternal lover of acidic tastes. I used to eat whole lemons when I was a kid, and I have been exposed to delightful alternatives ever since my early childhood years. To-date, I still use these alternatives, especially with meat and poultry, as they add more flavors than just the acidity of the juice.

  • Pomegranate molasses: This one is my all-time favorite. My mother used to soak my steaks in it and I kept the habit going. When the steak is done, I’d get French fries or a simple loaf of bread and soak it in the remaining sauce so that I don’t waste any. It tastes even better with the jus and spices from the steak! It goes perfectly well with red meat, birds, sausages, poultry and chicken liver.
  • Hamod el bousfeir: This one is very acidic, but it also has a hint of orange flavors in it. It’s very different in taste and is mostly used with beans (foul mdammas, balila, etc.). It balances the general dryness of beans with a perfect acidity and a tiny bit of sweetness thanks to the orange flavors it contains.
  • Grape verjuice (Hamod el hosrom): Have you ever eaten hosrom and do you know what it is? Let me explain; hosrom is green grapes and by green I mean unripe grapes. The grapes are plucked just as soon as they take shape and start growing. If you’ve never eaten hosrom, you don’t know what acidity actually means! 🙂 It is so acidic that it’s actually bitter, so imagine how it tastes when it is pressed to get the juice out… That juice, by itself, will burn a hole in your stomach :). That’s why it is generally mixed with a little honey for reduction. Enjoy hamod el hosrom with all kinds of salads including Tabbouleh, and as Olivia recommended, with any type of food.

Of course, there are the more regular alternatives too, like sumac and vinegar. I am sure that in some regions, there are other alternatives that are used and that are unknown to me. I’d love to hear your feedback on this! If you know of any other alternatives, please let me know so I try them out.

209-lebanese-wine

209 Lebanese Wine and why you should buy your wine there

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by • Drinks • Tags: ,

This is not a promotional post about 209 Lebanese Wine. I believe the platform was successfully launched a while ago and everyone talked about it back then. But since its launch, it has become our go-to wine store for all the Lebanese wines we are drinking.

I will not talk about the features of the platform or its ease of use; instead, I will talk about the membership program they have and why I believe it is brilliant.

On 209lebanesewine.com you can select to have a membership over 3 months or over 6 months. The membership has 2 levels; purple as the basic membership and velvet as the advanced one. The fees vary depending on the membership level you choose. It starts at 75$ for 3 months and goes up to 300$ for a membership of 6 months. For the amount you pay, you get a selection of wine bottles per month that is chosen by 209 Lebanese Wine and sent to you.

Why am I talking about all of this? Because it is thanks to this membership and to the monthly bottles sent to us by the site that we were able to discover Lebanese wines we would not have found out about otherwise, like Batroun Mountains, Vertical 33, Chateau Bybline, Aurora and many others. These wines are either unavailable in supermarkets, or simply not on our list of favorite wines. When you get used to some wines, you are tempted to get them every time and not give a chance to other, unknown wines. With our membership on 209lebanesewine.com we have discovered new Lebanese wines that are delightful and totally worth shedding the light on. One of them was for instance the Batroun Mountains – Riesling white wine that was sent to us a couple of months ago and that was featured on my list of favorite Lebanese white wines (you can read about it here: http://mytastebuds.me/2017/06/the-lebanese-white-wines-to-enjoy-this-summer/). Before it was sent to us, I had never heard of it and without 209lebanesewine.com, I would not have had the chance to taste it and enjoy it the way I did.

I highly recommend you subscribe to the site and select a monthly membership, because you will be surprised by and enjoying new Lebanese wines you’ve probably never heard of before.

anise-cookies

The best anise cookies you’ll ever taste are found at a bakery in a small village called Roum

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by • Featured, Must-Try Foods • Tags: , , ,

My husband is originally from a small town in Jezzine called Haitoura. It’s a charming village that gets alive and buzzing with people in summer, and that we visit almost every weekend during the warm season.

It’s a 40-minute drive from Saida and the road is very easy to follow; we pass by beautiful little villages on the way there, all of them in the Jezzine region.

One day, as we were going there for the weekend, we stopped at a small bakery in a town called Roum. At the time, we barely noticed its name and just wanted something to eat. It had plastic boxes on display, some with anise cookies and others with orange cookies. We got ourselves one box of each and being hungry, opened them right away, only to discover an incredible taste and by far, the best anise cookies I’ve ever had in my entire life! The dough is fresh, crunchy and baked to perfection. The anise seeds are generously used and whatever sugar used, if any, is barely noticeable.

As for the orange cookies, it was the first time I’ve had them since it is not a food tradition in my native town Joun, but they are a pure delight! I wish I can better convey with words how good they taste, but my advice is you take a trip to that bakery and give them, along with the anise cookies a try. The bakery is called Furn Antoun; I’ve made it a point to remember its name for the sake of this post :). It is located to the right on your way to Jezzine, right after the town’s roundabout and next to a gas station.

Lately, it is becoming difficult to find these cookies anytime you pass by; when I inquired about the reason, I was told that the lady who prepares them is working a lot, so she barely has time to bake any, but that she makes as much as she can on Wednesday. So if you can go on a road trip during the week, you have higher chances of finding these amazing cookies at the bakery. Trust me, they are totally worth your time and that trip you will be taking!

fromage-de-chevre-chaud

Au Bistrot de Michel: the restaurant you will be delighted to have discovered!

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: , ,

I love discovering small, cozy restaurants that are not on everyone’s radar and that pleasantly surprise you on all levels, especially on the culinary level.

A week ago I was invited by my friends to a small bistro in the heart of Achrafieh called Au Bistrot de Michel. Prior to that night, I had never heard of it and I was naturally looking forward to see what it had to offer.

We started with two salads; Fromage de Chèvre Chaud and Entre Terre et Mer. The former is very delicious, with sweet notes from the figs in syrup and acidic hints from the Granny Smith. But the salad Entre Terre et Mer is a must-try! It is made with fresh crab, greens, mango and asparagus. What I absolutely love about it is that it is actually acidic! While most of the fresh crab salads I had anywhere have barely any hints of acidity in them, this one will stimulate your palate with an exceptional combination of tastes.

The salads were followed by an exquisite Shrimps Risotto that you must by all means try, as it is cooked to perfection. We also had the Thon Mi-cuit that literally melts in your mouth and is served with shredded cucumbers and carrots, as well as sesame and a soy-based sauce, and the Steak Frites that is by far, one of the best I’ve had in Lebanon. The meat is tender and juicy and the fries are crispy and with just the right amount of spices.

Of course, a meal isn’t complete without dessert, right? So for those with a sweet tooth, I highly, highly recommend Le Vacherin de Bistrot as it is just perfect, as well as their Moelleux Chocolat de Cedrik. I’ve never had a moelleux as good as this one; it has the perfect amount of sweetness and is covered with cocoa powder that balances the soft side of the cake with its dryness. We ordered it with strawberry and lemon sorbets, and simply indulged into a very pleasant chocolate experience altogether. We equally had an apple tart that I didn’t get the chance to taste, because with the last bite of chocolate moelleux I could barely keep breathing :).

Au Bistrot de Michel has easily made it on my list of favorite restaurants in Beirut. It will be my go-to place for a lot of occasions and I am sure that I will be experiencing more pleasant and unique meals there!

chateau-qanafar

Chateau Qanafar: love at first sip

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by • Drinks • Tags: ,

I got first acquainted with Chateau Qanafar over three years ago, during a celebratory dinner at The Four Seasons’ Grill Room restaurant. Knowing how much we love Lebanese wines, the staff back then suggested we try Chateau Qanafar red wine and it has been a love journey ever since.

Chateau Qanafar is one of those boutique wineries that opened up a little over 10 years ago in Lebanon. It is located in the Bekaa and cultivates its own vineyards, to be able to always control the quality of their wines. Their red wine is a joy to the palate and ages beautifully with time. Their high-end wine, Chateau Qanafar, is an absolute delight, especially if you like full-bodied wines that age with earthy aromas and flavors.

Few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of tasting their white wine at a dinner. My husband, who doesn’t usually drink white wine, went straight to 209lebanesewine.com the next day and bought a box of Blanc de Qanafar. Their white wine, made entirely of Sauvignon Blanc grapes is just perfect with a mix of oaky aromas and fruity flavors.

Knowing how much we love their wine, we decided to pay a visit to the winery. Let me tell you it’s a bumpy road all the way there, literally ☺. We off-roaded for a bit before getting to the winery, but then there it was, still being built, but with a great vision ahead. We were met by Eddy, the winemaker and partner, who gives you the story with no marketing stunts; his passion, challenges, mistakes and future projects. He knows his wine is natural, straightforward, elegant and just perfect within its little imperfections, which makes it the tasteful wine it is. Of course, you also get to taste their exceptional wines, and get your favorite bottles straight from the winery.

I cannot tell you how proud I feel every time I meet a winemaker, who is striving to make great wine, despite all the challenges faced in Lebanon. Chateau Qanafar is a truly exceptional wine that you will enjoy no matter what the occasion is. It is worth tasting, drinking, keeping and sharing, because it will make your moments better, on every occasion.

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