Lebanese cuisine

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Lebanese cuisine is the culinary traditions and practices originating from

lemon juice. Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Lebanese diet.[1][2][3][4]

Well-known dishes include

sfeeha, falafel and shawarma.[5][6] An important component of many Lebanese meals is hummus, a chickpea puree dish, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread.[7][8][9] Well-known desserts include baklawa, sfouf and ka'ak.[10] Some desserts are specifically prepared on special occasions; for example, meghli (rice pudding dessert, spiced with anise, caraway, and cinnamon) is served to celebrate a newborn baby in the family.[11][12]

Arak is an anise-flavoured liquor, and is the Lebanese national drink, usually served with a traditional convivial Lebanese meal. Another historic and traditional drink is Lebanese wine.[13][14][15]

History

Western Asia

Lebanese cuisine has ancient roots and is part of the

The Lebanese diaspora who live worldwide has introduced new ingredients, spices and culinary practices into Lebanese cuisine, keeping the cuisine innovative and renowned both beyond and within its borders.[19][20] Chef and writer Tara Khattar describes her style of cookery as 'progressive Lebanese cuisine'.[21]

Overview

Most often, foods are grilled, baked or lightly cooked in

kibbe, the Beqaa Valley for its meat pastries (such as sfiha), and north Lebanon and Saida (Sidon) for its sweets.[22][23]

Typical Lebanese dining, with mezze and arak, taken at a restaurant in Beirut, Lebanon, 1950

In

cafés
.

Mezze may be as simple as raw or

baba ghanouj and bread, or it may become an entire meal consisting of grilled marinated seafood, skewered meats and a variety of cooked and raw salads and an arrangement of desserts. The assortments of dishes forming the mezze are generally consumed in small bites using a piece of flatbread.[25]

A typical mezze will consist of an elaborate variety of 30 or so hot and cold dishes, which may include:

When dining as a family, the mezze typically consists of three or four dishes, but when served in the restaurant, the mezze can range from 20 to 60 dishes, as the variant combinations and dishes involved are plenty.[29] Family cuisine also offers a range of dishes, such as stews (yakhneh) which can be cooked in many forms depending on the ingredients used and are usually served with meat and rice.[30][31]

Although simple fresh fruits are often served towards the end of a Lebanese meal, there is also dessert, such as baklava and coffee. When sweets are not available, fruits are typically eaten after meals, including figs, oranges and other citrus fruits, apples, grapes, cherries and green plums (janarek).[32][33] Although baklava is the most internationally known dessert, there is a great variety of Lebanese desserts.[34]

Dishes and ingredients

Lebanese cuisine combines Turkish, Arab and French cooking styles. Characteristics include the use of lamb (introduced by the Ottomans), the abundant use of nuts (especially almonds and pine nuts), and dressings made from lemon juice.[35]

Bread

The Lebanese use bread, usually flatbread, as an integral part of a meal and food is generally not served without it.[36]

Variants of manaeesh and other bread presented in a Lebanese eatery
  • Pita bread with a pocket, known as khubz Arabi (Arab bread),[37] is widely popular, and may be cut or torn up to dip in various dishes or be stuffed as a sandwich or wrap with ingredients such as falafel or shawarma.
  • Taboon bread is traditionally baked in a taboon oven or a tannur, and is similar to the various tandoor breads found in many parts of Asia.[38]
  • saj or pan.[39][9]
  • Ka'ak is a common Lebanese street bread that is usually consumed as a snack. There are many variations of ka'ak, from being sprinkled with traditional sesame seeds to being stuffed with cheese and za'atar.[40]
  • Manaeesh (mini-pizza) is traditionally garnished with cheese (kashk, in its Lebanese version), za'atar, spicy diced tomatoes and may be eaten for breakfast. These are made in many variants in a number of local bakeries or furns. Some bakeries allow customers to bring their own toppings in order to build their own customized manaeesh for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.[41] Variants include manakousheh za'atar (thyme pizza) and manakousheh jebneh which has only cheese.[42][43]
  • Manaeesh dough can also be eaten with minced meat and onions which is called lahm bi 'ajin. Mini versions are called sfeeha. The same dough can be made into a triangular pie called fatayer, filled with spinach, onions and sumac.

Dairy

Cheese, as well as

egg, chopped parsley and scallions. Within Lebanon, people make this omelette with different herbs that are cultivated from their village.[46][47]

Cheeses

  • sheep's milk.[48]
  • Baladi cheese has a mild yet rich flavor. It is called the "cheese of the mountains" since it is made in the high mountains by local shepherds in Lebanon.[49]
  • Feta is used in salads and other dishes, although some cooks will use a milder cheese called jibtieh baidha (simply "white cheese").[50][51]
  • Halloum is a semi-hard unripened cheese, perfect for grilling and frying. Along with akkawi it is traditionally stored in brine, giving it a strong, salty taste (though modern methods have allowed fresher varieties with less salt).[52]
  • Kashkaval is a cheese popular in many Eastern European countries that has made its way into Lebanese cuisine. It melts very quickly and is practical for pasta, pizza and sandwiches.[53]
  • Nabulsi is similar to halloumi, made by boiling fresh ackawi cheese in a mixture of spices and seeds which are then fried, grilled or eaten and used in the popular dessert knafeh, a cheese pastry soaked in a sugar-based syrup.[54]
  • Shanklish is made from cow's milk, salted, fermented and seasoned with thyme and pepper, formed into cheese balls coated in red pepper chilli flakes.[55]

Stews

Lebanese stews, often served with rice or flatbread, are made with ingredients found locally available.

Lebanese mulukhiyah stew with chicken served with rice, vinegar, onions and toasted pita bread

Vegetarian

vegetables and herbs (wild or cultivated) are abundant in the fertile landscape and serve as a main base of the cuisine.[69] For Lebanese Christians, including Catholic (Maronites and Melkites) and Orthodox, fasting from meat is practiced over the Lenten period (from midnight to noon) during Easter. Where abstention of meat is observed, the food is referred to as akl aateh (meaning food "cut" from the diet, such as meat or absent from meat). The particular food that is "cut" varies over different traditions.[70]

Salads

Ingredients for the Lebanese salad tabbouleh include parsley, bulgur wheat, olive oil, mint, lemon, tomato, salt, pepper, sumac and scallion

Stuffed dishes

  • Wara' enab is a dish commonly served as a mezze (appetizer), stuffed with either rice and meat or just rice.[74]
  • squash or zucchini stuffed with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven.[75]

Chickpea-based dishes

Lebanese Fatteh b'hummus
Mutabbel
mashed cooked aubergines (eggplants) and tahini

Aubergine-based dishes

Bean and legume dishes

Meats

Lebanese meat dishes are usually made with chicken or lamb, though pork is also eaten (albeit not as widely, due to Islamic dietary laws).[1] However, meat is expensive everywhere and not always readily available. Meat was traditionally precious and usually served on the weekend. It is sometimes eaten mixed with bulgur to prolong the shelf life.

kafta
, and a prepared plate of kafta with sides

Mixed meat

  • Shawarma is a commonly found form of street food made with slow-cooked skewered meat (either chicken, lamb or beef) that is thinly sliced and served as a sandwich with toppings such as onions, pickles and tomatoes.[91][92] Styles of this dish include shawarma lahmeh, grilled meat with parsley, onion and tarator, and shawarma djeij which is grilled poultry with toum and lettuce.[93]
  • Sambousek (also called samboosak, or sambousak bi-lahm) is a small stuffed pastry often filled with meat and served as an appetizer (mezze). Though usually filled with ground beef or lamb, sambousek can also be filled with cheese or other fillings.[94][95]
  • Kibbeh is a filled bulgur dough made with ground meat and can be made in different forms including fried (kibbeh raas), uncooked (kibbeh nayyeh), baked (kibbeh bil-saneeya), and all may be served with yogurt.[96][97][98] Some regional versions of kibbeh are a pumpkin-flavoured kebbe lakteen (popular in Beit Mery) and kebbe zghartweih which is an oven-cooked version popular in Ehden.[99][100]
  • onions, ground cumin and sumac.[101]
  • Kafta is made with spiced ground meat that is shaped into small patties or rolled into meatball-shaped balls which are then baked, pan-fried or charcoal-grilled on skewers. Kafta is served with bread and other side dishes.[102]

Lamb

Lahm b'ajin
  • Habra (raw lamb fillet) is essential for most dishes involving lamb. It is the foundation for many popular dishes including kibbeh nayyeh (minced raw lamb) and other variants of kibbeh. The fillet needs to be prepared and chilled for a minimum of 2 hours, and can even be prepared one day in advance.[4]
  • Dehen, somewhat like a meat shortening made from lamb-tail fat, fried lamb pieces and spices, is often used to give dishes a light meaty flavour without the expense of bulk meat.[2]
  • Barout del batata is spicy lamb served with potatoes.[103]
  • Deleh mehshi is a stuffed rib cage of lamb (popular in
    Broummana).[104]
  • Laban immo is cooked yoghurt and lamb with rice (popular in Douma).[105]
  • Kafta meshwi is minced lamb mixed with finely chopped onion and parsley, broiled on a skewer over charcoal.[106]
  • Qawarma originates from a centuries-old custom that was to buy a fat-tailed lamb in the spring and force-feed it day and night with mulberry and grape leaves, wheat hulls and other ingredients ending in a succulent chopped lamb dish, salted and kept in the grease of the animal.[107][108][109]
  • onions, and nuts popular in the Lebanese town of Baalbek.[110][111]
  • Shish barak (Lebanese ravioli) is meat dumplings in yogurt sauce.[112]
  • Khash is a dish of boiled sheep parts, which might include the head, feet, and stomach (tripe).

Chicken

Kibbeh nayyeh
  • Chich taouk is charcoaled grilled chicken marinated with garlic, lemon, and spices including cinnamon and cumin[113]
  • Djaj meshwi is grilled spiced chicken on bbq, marinated with a garlic lemon sauce.[114]
  • Farrouj meshwi is grilled chicken, served with garlic sauce.[115]
  • Jwenih (or Jawaneh) are chicken wings cooked with coriander, garlic and lemon, served as mezze.[116]
  • Riz bi-djaj is a dish of chicken and rice.[117]
  • Shish taouk is grilled chicken skewers that utilize only white meat, marinated in olive oil, lemon, parsley, and sumac, served on a bed of rice with almonds and pine nuts.[118]

Beef

Sayadieh
  • Pastirma is cured, seasoned dried beef, introduced by the Ottomans.[119][120]
  • Tabbouleh bi dehn is another version of tabbouleh and is cooked with lentils and beef ghee.[121]
  • Ghameh is a delicacy of stuffed cow intestines.[122]
  • Kafta bithine is spiced meat with sesame concentrate, popular in Beit ed-Dine.[123]
  • Kafta nayyeh is raw beef tartare
    .

Fish

Sweets

Booza ice cream

Lebanese desserts have been influenced by Ottoman cuisine and share many similarities with other neighbouring countries. Semolina is used in the preparation of several prominent Lebanese desserts.

Sfouf is a popular sweet anise-infused cake decorated with almonds

Condiments and spices

Sumac is a spice used in many salads, hummus and other dishes to provide a tangy, lemony taste
  • Tahini – sesame paste.[133]
  • Tarator – tahini, water, garlic and lemon dip.[134]
  • Toum – garlic sauce.[135]
  • Shatta – chili sauce popular in the Middle East.[136]
  • Muhammara – a hot pepper dip originally from Aleppo, Syria, found in Levantine and Turkish cuisines.[137]
  • Sumac – a tangy spice used in many salads.[138]
  • Za'atar – dried thyme and sumac that can differ between regions and households. Most are made at home, but can be bought at Lebanese markets.[139]
  • Lebanese spice blend (also called Lebanese seven spice
    cloves, fenugreek, nutmeg and ginger. It is commonly used to flavor many Lebanese dishes.[141]

Beverages

Lebanese Arabs drinking out of a briq and eating a mezze, 1889, Beirut

Notable chefs

See also

References

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