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 …
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 …
Tabbouleh Salad
Tabbouleh, Tabbouli, or tabouli salad (parsley salad) is probably one of the most popular salads in the Middle East. And with such popularity comes many options on what makes the best tabbouleh. My Lebanese husband grew up eating tabbouleh and one of our earliest conversations when we were dating was around the subject of what made good tabbouleh—so this recipe is based on his family’s …
Drunken Noodles
During a college visit several years ago, my family and I tried this dish for the first time. Of all the entrees we ordered, this plate of wide tender noodles was the most popular. After the trip and home back in my kitchen, I went about recreating the dish. Freshly made rice noodles are the way to go here—dried noodles can be substituted, but there’s no comparison to the flavor of the sauce …