A Lebanese Feast
Happy November! It’s officially one of the best months of the year – Thanksgiving, my birthday (call me conceited), and the nearing of winter (my favorite season) undoubtedly make November one of the happiest 30 days of my year. I can’t wait to dive into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season focus for the rest of the year BUT before I do, I have to make one last non-holiday season related post. And it’s an important one.
I’ve probably mentioned it a million times by now, but I’m half-Lebanese and very proud of it at that. I like to think I’m full, but I’m definitely – and very visibly – only half. However, I’ve been blessed that the half of my family that is Lebanese (my dad’s side) is very in tune to the Lebanese cuisine and has passed down many recipes through the generations. I’ve also been blessed to have a best friend whose family is full Lebanese and makes – dare I say – even better – tasting food than what I grew up learning to make. But that’s a debate for another day.
Lebanese food and Middle-Eastern food in general is by far my favorite type of food, both to cook and eat. I grew up rolling grape leaves (or dolmades) with my brothers, watching my dad make kibbeh, and helping my mom pick the parsley off its stems for tabbouleh. The food is definitely dear to me because of the nostalgia it brings, but it also is some of the best tasting food, ever. It’s my comfort food that’s for sure.
Every year on my birthday I request a full Lebanese feast, and since I don’t think I’ll be home on my birthday I cashed in my birthday dinner a little early with two of my friends from college – and one of them just happens to also be Lebanese.
It all started when I posted this 7 Layer Greek Dip recipe over the quarantine/summer part of 2020, and my friend Carolyn (the Lebanese one) asked if I was Lebanese. Amy (the imposter) was living with Carolyn at the time. Thus, the plans for a Lebanese feast were born, and we finally got around to it a couple of weeks ago.
P.S. this feast was totally unrelated to my birthday but like I said, it’s November now and I’m just going to pretend like it was. Again, call me conceited.
On our Lebanese feast menu:
- Grape Leaves
- Tabbouleh
- Spinach Pies (Fatayer)
- Lebanese Rice
- Baba Ganoush
I also bought some Baklava from a local international food market in Fayetteville to fully complete the feast.
The recipe my mom always uses and I used for the spinach pies is this one. Everything else was made from a combination of mine and Carolyn’s family recipes.
Carolyn’s Grandmother’s Grape Leaves
- 1 jar grape leaves
- 1 lb ground beef or lamb (80/20)
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- ½ can hunts tomato paste (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste (about ½ tbs. each)
- ½ - 1 tbs. cinnamon (to your liking)
- 2 tbs. dried mint flakes
- 1/2 stick butter
- 2 lemons – juiced
Mix the rice, meat, tomato paste (if using), salt, pepper, mint, cinnamon, and melted butter all together in a large bowl. Place a small spoonful in each grape leaf and roll into a tight cigar.
When sorting through your grape leaves, you’ll often find torn or un-rollable ones – save those. Place those unused grape leaves at the bottom of a large pot. Lie your grape leaves into rows on the bottom of the pot and switch the direction when you get to the next row, alternating direction every layer. Squeeze the lemons on top of the grape leaves once you finish layering them at the top of the pot and add a generous sprinkle of salt. Fill the pot with water to cover the grape leaves. Place a dinner plate on top to hold them down and cook on medium/low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the water evaporates and the grape leaves are tender.
My Mom’s Tabbouleh
1 bunch parsley (picked off from stems, finely chopped)
1/2 cup fine bulger wheat
2 lemons, juiced
3 tbs.
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tomato – finely diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs. chopped fresh mint
Place bulger in a bowl and squeeze juice of 1 lemon over and add 1/4 cup of water on top. Stir and let sit for 20 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed, and fluff the bulger with a fork. In a medium bowl add the chopped parsley, tomato, mint and toss. Mix the juice of the other lemon with the olive oil, salt, and pepper to make your dressing. Add the fluffed up bulger and dressing to the bowl of parsley, tomatoes, and mint. Toss to combine.
“Julia’s Rice”
2 cups Uncle Ben’s long grain rice
5 nests twisted angel hair vermicelli - crushed
1 stick unsalted butter
4 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
Brown the rice and vermicelli in the butter in a large pot, stirring consistently. Once the rice has a nice toast on it, add water and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed. Fluff the rice up with a fork before serving.
My Baba Ganoush
- 1 large eggplant – halved down the middle, no need to peel
- 1 lemon – juiced
- 1 tsp. salt, black pepper each (plus more for sprinkling on the eggplant)
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 garlic clove – minced
- 3 tbs. olive oil
- Optional olive oil, za’atar, and crushed red pepper flakes for topping
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rub the eggplant with the olive oil on the flesh side and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place flesh/oiled side down on a sheet pan and roast for about 25 minutes. Flip each half over and continue roasting until the eggplant is very tender and very charred. You want to “over-roast” the eggplant to make sure that it creates a smoky flavor – that’s what makes the baba ganoush so good!
Remove the eggplant from the oven and let cool completely. Scoop the insides out of the eggplant into a bowl. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini. Mash together with a fork and refrigerate until cool. Top with an optional drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of za’atar and crushed red pepper flakes. Dig in with pita chips/bread or crudités.
