Making creamy hummus at home tastes so much better than any prepared hummus available in the grocery stores. With a whirl of my food processor, some canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), and a few pantry items, I can have hummus that’s fresh, lemony, buttery smooth, and delicious, any time I want it. Making hummus lets me decide the amount of lemon juice, salt, tahini (sesame paste), or garlic to …
Side Dish
Baba Ghanoush
Baba Ghanoush is well known throughout the Middle East as a creamy, smokey dip made with eggplant, lemon juice, and tahini (sesame paste). This Lebanese recipe also uses a couple of tablespoons of yogurt, which I think adds to its creaminess. The trick to capturing this distinctive smokiness is actually charring the skin over an open flame. Unfortunately, attempts to broil the eggplant in the oven …
Fava Beans in Oil
This is one of my husband’s favorite lunch, Foul Mudammas. The recipe may be made with several variation—the addition of crushed garlic, minced green chilies, a sprinkle of allspice or cumin, chopped parsley or mint, and chopped onion or green onion. The fava beans may be left whole or alternatively leaving some whole and some mashed. The size of the bean also matters. We prefer a medium to …
Vermicelli Rice
This rice appears on many Lebanese tables, accompanying grilled meats, fish, stews, and much more. The traditional preparation for frying the vermicelli is to use butter or oil. I dry fry toasting the bits of pasta in a wider-based pan instead. The toasting brings out a delicious nutty flavor and the lack of additional fat isn’t missed. Tip Tying a clean kitchen towel around the lid of your …