fattoush-with-fried-bread

Fattoush and the bread: #TeamGrilled or #TeamFried

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by • Tips • Tags: , ,

I love Lebanese food. I believe it is one of the healthiest, most colourful and most delicious cuisines in the world. I especially love Lebanese salads, or in simpler terms Tabbouleh and Fattoush. We grew up eating those every week and they are not just part of our diet, but also part of our culture.

We’ve always eaten Fattoush with grilled bread at home and I never had the curiosity to know more about the bread, until I started noticing that every time we go to a Lebanese restaurant and with the exception of very few, Fattoush is served with fried bread, not with grilled bread.

So I asked my mom why Fattoush is served with either bread and how it should be served originally, and this is what I found out: Fattoush is originally served with fried bread. That is the initial recipe. However, back in the days, not everyone could afford gas and oil to fry things, especially bread. So they started grilling the bread instead. Even grilling was sometimes an expensive means to change the bread, so what mothers did in poorer areas was to put the bread in the sun for it to “toast” or to harden enough to be served in Fattoush. How interesting is that! To change an ingredient and how it integrates a dish based on what you can or cannot afford, and get a completely different taste experience in the process…

I like Fattoush with fried bread, but grilled bread wins me over every time. Fried bread keeps its crunch and has a special taste, but it doesn’t really absorb the dressing and the acidity of the Fattoush. Grilled bread, on the other hand, absorbs some of the juice and balances the acidity of the dish. It doesn’t need to be crunchy, as there are enough elements in the Fattoush mix that add crunchiness like cucumbers, radish, lettuce, etc.

I still put the bread way ahead for it to be completely soaked with the Fattoush dressing. For me, this is the only way to really enjoy one of my all-time favourite salads :).

latelier-du-miel-brunch

L’atelier du miel: forget every food combination your taste buds have taught you

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by • Must-Try Foods • Tags: ,

L’atelier du miel is one of those brands and concept stores that you just love to love in Lebanon. It sells natural honey produced with its own beehives, with a vision to make honey an essential ingredient in every Lebanese household. And with that very same vision, they opened their latest boutique and restaurant in Mar Mikhael, where they actually make honey part of every dish you eat there, so that people understand what it means to use honey with food, just like they would use olive oil or any other condiment.

Up until the day I visited the boutique, my knowledge of honey was very limited. I didn’t know honey came in so many tastes, depending on what the bees are feeding of. Neither did I know that each type of honey had its own specifications and benefits. What I also didn’t know was how delicious honey tasted, in every flavor I tried. All I knew was that good honey is 100% natural, unsweetened and seasonal. I had never really tasted honey before and I only used it in few recipes, mostly to tone down sharp flavors like the acidity of pomegranate molasses, or the saltiness of soy sauce. And what I mostly didn’t know is how my taste buds will forever be impregnated with a new and unparalleled taste experience.

When I first walked in there that morning, an exquisite smell of freshly baked croissants had filled the air and all I could think of was how good these croissants were going to taste. I made a first stop at the boutique, where Gina made me taste incredible honeys and explained where each one came from. After that stop, it was time for my brunch experience. Knowing me, I had to order the items that stood out on the menu 🙂 like goat labneh balls, and the lollo verde and bulgur salad. I also had scrambled eggs, and those croissants I could not take off my mind.

The goat labneh balls come served with watermelon and honeycomb. You need to take in all three at once to enjoy what an incredible mix this is. The acidity of the labneh is balanced with the sweetness of the watermelon, and the honeycomb adds hints of sweet earthiness that take the whole dish to a new level of flavors.

The lollo verde with bulgur salad is just incredible! Every mouthful is a taste explosion in itself. Each ingredient matches perfectly well the other and the roasted hazelnuts are the cherry on top. The dressing, made with spring blossom honey, lemon and apple cider vinegar brings all of the ingredients together in a harmonious mix.

The croissants were just as exquisite as their smell. Fresh, light and fluffy, they come served with strawberry jam (sweetened with honey of course) and thistles and summer flowers honey. Try one bite with jam and another with honey. Each one will taste differently but both are just perfect.

The scrambled eggs were the great finale. I’ve never, ever had scrambled eggs as good as those and believe me, I’ve had scrambled eggs in a lot of cities around the world. What makes these scrambled eggs so special is that they are cooked with orange blossom and spring flowers honey. They’re so good that you don’t need to eat anything else with them! I will not talk further about this item, just order it when you visit and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

This visit has completely changed my perception of honey and how it will be used in my kitchen from now on. It has equally enriched my taste buds in so many ways, that I will definitely come back to taste more, discover more, learn more and refine my taste with new culinary experiences.

lebanese-food-and-arak

Arak: the only drink that goes really well with Lebanese food

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by • Drinks • Tags: , , , , ,

Every time I go to a Lebanese restaurant, I see people around me enjoying different drinks with the food; mostly beer, whisky, wine and arak.

While people can drink whatever pleases them with their food :), there is one drink that really goes well with Lebanese food and it’s Arak.

Let me explain; Lebanese food is generally very acidic, especially the mezze. Anytime you’re in a Lebanese restaurant, you will be ordering a lot of salads like tabbouleh, fattoush, rocca, artichoke in lemon and oil, hindbeh, etc., as well as hummus, moutabbal, batata harra, chicken liver, birds and sausages in debs el remmen and so on. The way we eat mezze is not to enjoy just one dish out of all of those, but to eat small portions from every dish, so imagine the level of acidity that your palate and taste buds are getting.

To keep enjoying this type of food over a whole lunch or dinner, your taste buds and palate need to be refreshed or else they’ll become numb. So whatever drink you’re sipping on between your mouthfuls needs to tone down the acidity of the food, and that’s exactly what Arak does. It’s actually what only Arak can do. With its hints of sweetness and earthy texture, it will sober your palate and ease your taste buds before you take in more tangy flavors from the food. This way, your mezze mouthfuls will be better enjoyed because your taste buds are ready to take in more acidity :).

Voila! Next time you’re in a restaurant, try to feel Arak’s effect on your taste buds and how each mouthful will taste better after every sip. Cheers!

tomato-cucumber-salad

My top salad picks to eat with Moujaddara

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by • Quick Fixes, Tips • Tags: ,

I love moujaddara. To me, it is one of the main dishes that define Lebanese cuisine in its ingredients, identity and flavors. It is one of the healthiest dishes ever invented and is made with extremely simple ingredients; boiled lentils, onions, olive oil and salt. Some people add rice to it while it’s cooking while others add bulgur, but these two ingredients do not really come forward taste wise; they’re more used for the consistency of the dish.

Moujaddara has a very earthy taste and needs to be balanced with acidic flavors for it to leave its mark on your taste buds. By itself, it is very enjoyable but when mixed with the right salads, it turns into a stellar taste explosion. So my dear readers, I have noted down below my favorite salads that are oh-so-good with moujaddara!

  • Wild thyme and onions: it is made of velvety thyme leaves, chopped onions, lemon juice, olive oil and salt, and is the best thing you can eat with moujaddara! It will add notes of acidity from the lemon juice and a kick from the sharpness of thyme leaves and onions. Just try it, ok?
  • Tomato and cucumber salad: it is made with tomatoes (get tomatoes that actually smell and taste like tomatoes and not the bland ones that are tasteless), cucumbers, dried mint, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. It will add crunch to a rather mushy dish, notes of sweetness from the tomatoes and the usual acidity of the lemon juice.
  • Cabbage salad: this one is very simple and takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. It’s made of chopped cabbage leaves, lemon juice, oil and salt, and goes incredibly well with moujaddara.
  • Pickled caper branches: here comes the unusual element :). If you’ve been reading me for a while, you know I always introduce unusual foods in my posts. You know capers, right? The ones usually served with smoked salmon in restaurants… Well, those very capers come from the caper bush that grows everywhere in Lebanon. You will find it on most roadsides and in the wilderness. We even have a plant in our parking lot! My mom actually picks the branches of the plant, washes them and pickles them just like cucumbers, cauliflower, etc. After a while, they become soft and even their thorns are edible. Since they’re soaked in vinegar to get pickled, they’re very acidic, so you need to add a little olive oil to them. Enjoy them with moujaddara to get an out-of-this-world taste experience.
  • Makdous or oil-cured eggplants: I reckon this is not a salad, but makdous with moujaddara is just perfect! Imagine the combination of moujaddara’s earthiness and makdous’ tanginess and how they will mix together! The walnuts, red pepper and garlic in the makdous make up for one of the richest taste combinations ever. Mix that with moujaddara and you’ve got yourself one hell of a treat!

Voila! I hope you will taste my recommendations soon and let me know your thoughts!

pomegranate-molasses

The Lebanese alternatives to lemon juice

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by • 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.

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