Middle Eastern Recipes
307 recipes found
Suad Shallal’s Iraqi Lentil Soup With Meatballs
This recipe came to The Times in a 2004 article about iftar, the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, the monthlong Muslim holiday during which observers abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Soup, like this hearty, spiced lentil soup with meatballs and angel hair pasta, is a common iftar meal as it provides substantial nutrition as well as plenty of hydration. It is adapted from a recipe belonging to Suad Shallal, who moved with her family from Iraq to the United States, in 1966. It was served at her son Andy's restaurant, Mimi's American Bistro in downtown Washington, each day during Ramadan. (The restaurant is now closed.) Mrs. Shallal's recipe calls for ground allspice, but feel free to experiment with other spices found in Middle Eastern cooking like cumin, coriander, cardamom and turmeric. And don't forget to taste and season with salt as you go.
Molly O'Neill's Tabbouleh
Eggplant Brochettes With Yogurt Coriander Sauce
Hawaij (Yemenite Spice Blend)
Pierre Franey's Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh With Romaine Leaves
Mast-o Khiar (Persian Cucumber and Herb Yogurt)
Yogurt, both plain and with cucumbers, is everywhere on Iranian tables — the thicker and sourer, the better. Mast-o khiar is an everyday side similar to Indian raita or Greek tzatziki, but raisins, walnuts and rose petals elevate this version of the dish, adding a host of different flavors and textures. Dice, rather than grate, the cucumbers to keep them from getting watery, and don’t skip the dried mint and dried dill, which add dimension to the fresh herbs.
Namoura (Syrup-Soaked Semolina Cake)
Amanda Saab, a social worker and home cook who lives near Detroit, riffs on her Lebanese grandmother's recipe for namoura, a cake made from semolina flour, soaked in syrup while it's still warm. When she serves it at iftar dinners during Ramadan, Ms. Saab often doses the syrup with a little bit of lavender extract. You could follow her lead, or use another floral note like vanilla or rose. The cake has no eggs, but this version gets its rich flavor and texture from aerated yogurt, which goes bubbly within minutes of being mixed with a little baking soda.
Khoresh Rivas (Savory Rhubarb and Bean Stew)
In Iranian cuisine, rhubarb is often used in savory dishes rather than in sweet ones. The hearty pinkish-red stalks, which cook down quickly and tenderize, provide just the right amount of tang to herb-based stews like khoresh rivas. Typically, this bright and flavorful dish is prepared with red meat, but hearty butter beans star in this vegetarian version. Fresh herbs are used in impressively large amounts in this cuisine, often holding their own as main ingredients. Mint and parsley are a common combination for the base of many stews. Gently frying the herbs separately before adding them to the stew concentrates their flavors, adding layers of depth. This stew tastes even better the next day. Serve khoresh rivas with rice and a side of plain yogurt.
Skillet Chicken With Cumin, Paprika and Mint
Chicken shawarma, a rotisserie favorite heady with spice and flavor, is usually cooked on a spit, then shaved into sandwiches and salads. But it also belongs on a bed of rice, cooked in a pan for a filling family meal that’s easy to return to again and again. White rice does a fine job rounding out this meal, and cooks quickly. But, if brown rice is more your speed, look for the sprouted short-grain variety, which cooks faster than regular brown rice and reaches al dente just as the chicken begins to split into tender morsels. (To cook the rice even faster, soak it while you marinate the chicken.) Cooking this on the stove yields crisp rice bits along the bottom of the pan, especially nice against the tender, flavorful chicken. Since even the best shawarma is only as good as its bright flavors, be generous with mint, parsley, yogurt and lime: the more, the better.
One-Pot Mujadara With Leeks and Greens
Cookbooks will tell you that, in the Middle East, mujadara is the essence of comfort food, a humble dish made from pantry staples. To that I will add how easy it is to make. The only part that needs some attention is the frying of the onions (or in this case, leeks). To get them crisp, you have to cook them until they are deeply brown and darker than you might be comfortable with. But without the deep color, you don’t get the crunch. Just make sure to take them off the heat before they burn. You want the majority to be mahogany, not black (though a few black strands would be O.K.).
Middle Eastern-Inspired Herb and Garlic Chicken
This recipe was inspired by the Middle Eastern dried seasoning mix called za’atar, a combination of herbs (usually thyme, oregano and marjoram), sesame seeds and sumac, often spiked with salt. Here, fresh herbs are substituted for the dried, which, along with fresh parsley and mint and plenty of lemon and garlic, are used to marinated boneless chicken thighs. If you can’t find sumac, just leave it out. It does add a nice tang and vibrant color, but the dish will work without it. Optimum marinating time here is 8 hours. But feel free to leave it for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 24 hours. If you would rather use white meat, substitute boneless skinless breasts but reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
Hummus
Hummus is an ideal dip for picnics, parties and everyday snacking. Serve it with pita, chips, crackers or cut vegetables. In this hummus recipe, adapted from "How to Cook Everything," tahini is essential, as are garlic and lemon. But this dip is also flexible: cumin and pimentón are optional, as are herbs or blends like za’atar. Hummus can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.
5-Minute Hummus
Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook of the Philadelphia restaurant Zahav found success with their hummus recipe, but in their second book, “Israeli Soul,” the two came up with this smart version, done in a fraction of the time of the original. It’s just as satisfying, and packed with tahini flavor, a given since it calls for a whole 16-ounce jar. The end result is nutty and smooth, and topped with roasted vegetables, a worthy weeknight meal.
Eshkeneh-yeh Adas (Lentil Egg Drop Soup)
Somewhere between a soup and a stew, eshkeneh appears in various preparations throughout Iran. One of the oldest dishes in the country’s cuisine, eshkeneh is simple, flavorful, nourishing and hearty. The rustic dish requires minimal ingredients and satisfies on cold winter days. This version is made with lentils, potatoes and eggs, which are typically added at the end as a thickener, and is flavored with a hit of warm Aleppo pepper. The dried fenugreek leaves add depth, warmth and a distinct bittersweet fragrance. You can also use about 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped fenugreek leaves if you have some, but do not use seeds or powder. Be mindful that too much fenugreek turns a dish bitter.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs
This dish from Yotam Ottolenghi, a chef and an author of "Jerusalem," the beloved Middle Eastern cookbook, takes inspiration from a city where fig trees grow in abundance. Roasted sweet potatoes, along with wedges of fresh figs, are piled onto a plate, drizzled with a green onion-chile sauce and a balsamic reduction then dotted with generous pats of goat cheese. Do plan ahead, as this recipe does require a bit of preparation, but it's easy work that's more than worth it.
Bademjan Kebab
Bademjan kebab is traditionally pan-fried eggplant stuffed with bieh, a herb-and-nut sauce that, in Northern Iran, uses sour fruit molasses along with the typical sweet and sour pomegranate molasses. An important Northern Iranian spice, Persian hogweed is earthy, sour and slightly bitter, with a pungent scent; you can find it at Middle Eastern groceries. Mr. Sadr sautés the bieh until the herbs and nuts cook down into a dark green, thick paste, which is spooned onto partially roasted eggplant halves then roasted. Northern Iranian cooking doesn’t use a lot of spices, so the herbs, nuts and molasses create a deeply flavored, almost meaty vegan sauce. It’s flexible, so sub in dill, basil, tarragon, savory or scallion for any of the herbs. The bieh will keep for 1 week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer, so you can make it in advance. If eating this dish as a main, Mr. Sadr suggests serving it with plain or turmeric basmati rice.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt
A mixture of herbs and spices used in North African cooking, chermoula is often used to season fish. In this recipe from "Jerusalem," the famed Middle Eastern cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, it is rubbed over eggplant, which is then roasted and topped with a tabbouleh-like salad.
Grilled Asparagus With Caper Salsa
Caprino fresco is a soft, tangy Italian goat cheese, and here, it lends a deep creaminess to a caper salsa that is draped over grilled asparagus. The recipe, from the chef Yotam Ottolenghi, is quickly prepared. Bread may be needed to sop up the rest of the salsa. (If caprino fresco isn’t available, try another soft goat cheese, like chèvre.)
Rqaq w Adas (Lentils With Pasta)
In Arabic, adas are lentils, and rqaq is a flatbread as thin and nearly as sheer as paper. The two come together in this stew, which was traditionally a way to use dough left over from baking bread, as the Palestinian artist and chef Mirna Bamieh explains. The lentils are simmered with cumin, bringing its stealthy warmth, along with bronzed onions, tamarind and sweet-sour pomegranate molasses. Meanwhile, scraps of dough are rolled out, then up into cylinders and slashed into long, skinny strands that look like tagliatelle. But you don’t have to wait for baking day: Instead, just knead together the quick dough below or swap in dried pasta. The noodles are dropped right in the pot, to cook among the lentils, leaching starch and making the stew even richer.
Ash Reshteh (Persian Greens, Bean and Noodle Soup)
Ash reshteh’s flavor is defined by two uniquely Persian ingredients: reshteh and kashk. The soup, served during the festivities leading up to Nowruz, the Persian New Year, wouldn’t be the same without the soup noodles called reshteh, which are saltier and starchier than Italian noodles — though you could substitute linguine in a pinch. Kashk, a form of drained yogurt or whey, is saltier and more sour than Greek yogurt or sour cream. More like feta than yogurt, liquid kashk gives ash its distinct, satisfying flavor. If you can’t find liquid kashk, buy it powdered and hydrate it with warm water to the consistency of sour cream. Look for both items at a Middle Eastern grocery.
Crunchy Roasted Za’atar Chickpeas
Za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix made from dried thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds, gives these roasted chickpeas a fragrant, herbal, tangy bite. Unlike other similar recipes, the chickpeas are roasted without any oil, which is added after they come out of the oven. This allows the peas to crisp up without turning greasy. Do make sure to dry them out for an hour as directed, which adds to their crunchy texture. It’s hard to stop eating these once you start, so if you’re serving these to a group, consider making a double batch.
Baked Rice With Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic
Baking rice on a bed of tender vegetables has to be one of the most fail-safe ways to prepare it. Here tangy-sweet tomatoes, garlic and shallots are slowly roasted in olive oil with cinnamon and thyme, then baked with basmati rice until everything is fragrant and soft. Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook, “Ottolenghi Simple,” it makes a spectacular side dish to pan-seared meats or fish, or can be the heart of a vegetarian meal with some crumbled feta and pine nuts sprinkled on top for serving.
Sabzi Polo (Herbed Rice With Tahdig)
Cooked in two stages, this herbed rice, or sabzi polo, is a constant at the Persian New Year table, where everyone fights over the crust of crisp rice called tahdig. You can use a food processor to chop the herbs if you like. It's key to do the herbs in batches (don't overfill the bowl of the processor), to pulse rather than run and to stop and scrape a few times for even chopping. Work until the pieces are nice and small, about an eighth of an inch or the size of a small sunflower seed, but not so far that they begin to break down and form a paste.