Mixed Bean Salad

My only changes were to salt the water and add the juice of one lemon to the dressing-- a fabulous salad!

Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

Now that I've found it, I hope to never be without this lovely salad in my life!

Magical Muhammara

Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara

So much greater than the sum of its humble parts...

Pomegranate-Cumin Dressing

Perfect on a kebab.

Salmon Chreime

Syrian Jewish cooking at its best...

Mercimek Koftesi

My new favorite lunch.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken 'Tagine' with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Bill says this was even better than the food he ate in the prince's palace in Marakesh. (Awww...so sweet...)

8 chicken thighs, skin removed
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon adobo (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinammon
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup salad oil
juice of 1 lemon

2 grated onions
1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and each half cut crosswise into 3 wedges
1 cup chicken stock

1 - 2 preserved lemons, pulp removed and discarded, peel finely diced
1/2 cup mixed, chopped fresh cilantro and parsley
1 1/2 cups ripe green olives, pitted and diced small


1. The day before serving, remove the ceramic insert from the slow cooker. Layer the potato wedges on the bottom of the ceramic insert. Rub the chicken thighs with a paste made of the spices, oil and lemon juice. Stack the chicken pieces on top of the potatoes and pour any remaining marinade over all. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

2. The next day, set the filled ceramic insert on the base of the slow cooker and turn to low heat. Add the grated onion and chicken stock. Cover and let cook for 6-8 hours. DO NOT LIFT THE LID DURING COOKING.

4. Add the olives and fresh herbs to the sauce when the chicken is very tender and the flesh falls easily from the bone. Continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes, uncovered.

5. Adjust for seasoning, and add more lemon juice, if desired, to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve at once, over couscous.

Basbousah for Carmen

My friend Carmen got married last month. Her new husband is Egyptian, and for the last couple of years we've been talking about how much she loves his cooking, and about the merits of Middle Eastern food in general. This recipe, adapted from Joan Nathan, is one of their wedding presents. I'd like to think it's got a little touch of both of their cultures in it: semolina and almonds for him, and a drop of miel para la iyalocha. (Maferefun Ochun!) A honey-glazed cake for a happy home, with lots of love from me and Bill.

Cake:
2 cups cream of wheat
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
2 dozen blanched almonds (available in Middle Eastern stores)

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cups water
2 tablespoons orange flower water (or vanilla or even 1/2 cup lemon juice or orange juice -- if you use fruit juice, zest the rind of the fruit before you juice it and add a little minced zest to the cake batter. I added a shot of grand marnier to the syrup for an orange-infused basbousah last night, and it was divine.)

whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the cream of wheat and baking powder in a bowl. Add the sour cream, sugar and melted butter and mix well.

2. Grease a 10 inch round cake pan and dust with the bread crumbs. Pour in the filling and pat down until it is even. Make a diamond design by scoring the mix with a knife. Put one blanched almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes, until golden on top.

3.In the meantime, bring the sugar, honey and water to boil in a saucepan and let simmer until it is a thick syrup. Add the orange flower water or other flavoring.

4. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the syrup over it. Let stand until cool. Serve each diamond-shaped piece of cake with whipped cream.

Moroccan Eggplant Salad

This Sephardic classic is always a major favorite on our seder table. I roast the eggplant on baking sheets instead of the more traditional pan-frying.

2 large eggplants
2 tablespons kosher salt
olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic, mashed to a paste
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Harissa or dried red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tablespoon ras al hanout
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Cut the eggplants in quarters, lengthwise and slice each long piece into 1/2 inch half slices cross-wise. Pat dry, toss with olive oil until all slices are coated and spread out on a couple of sheet pans. Roast at 400 degrees until browned, turning once and making sure not to burn the slices. This can take anywhere from 15 - 25 minutes.

Mix together the tomato paste, garlic, lemon juice, spices, and half of the chopped cilantro in a serving bowl. Add the eggplant slices, coating them with the tomato mixture. (Can be made up to this point a day ahead of serving) Garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro. Serve at room temperature. Serves 6

Tangy Red Lentil Soup With Niçoise Olives

Once a month, when I know I'm going to be home for a couple of hours, I make a big batch of rich chicken stock, using the Edna Lewis method. Last week there was an article in the NYT about how making stock is (supposedly) too much work, results in too many pots to wash and is altogether not worth the effort. Along with the article they listed a number of soup recipes in which the bones cook right along with the soup, instead of requiring the separate step of making stock first and then soup later.
This was one of those recipes, and I'm here to tell you, people: TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE A BIG BATCH OF STOCK ONCE A MONTH WHILE YOU'RE WATCHING A VIDEO OR CONDITIONING YOUR HAIR. There is no substitute in terms of depth of flavor. I had to triple the amount of tomato paste called for and add a whole mess of salt to this recipe just to give it flavor. Other than that, it was pretty good. A nice occasional change from our Turkish red lentil standard. The olive garnish is very cute.

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, unpeeled, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 small can tomato paste
1 pound red lentils, rinsed
1 pound chicken backs
4 thyme sprigs
2 lemons, halved
1/4 cup whole niçoise olives.
Pimenton, for garnish
1. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine celery, carrot, onion, garlic, olive oil and salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add lentils, chicken backs, 8 cups water and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until lentils have broken down, about 30 minutes.

2. Discard thyme sprigs. Remove chicken backs, remove meat from bones, chop meat and return meat to soup. Using an immersion blender, partially purée soup. Taste and add salt if needed. Ladle soup into bowls, squeeze in lemon juice and serve topped with olives.

Yield: 8 servings.

Joan Nathan's Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup tahina
1/2 cup lemon juice, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Dash of paprika or sumac
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro



1. Put the raw chickpeas in a bowl with cold water to cover and soak overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then place them in a heavy pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, for about an hour or until the chickpeas are soft and the skin begins to separate. Add more water as needed.
3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving about 1-1/2cups of the cooking liquid. Set aside 1/4cup of the cooked chickpeas for garnish. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the remaining chickpeas with the tahina, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and at least 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. If the hummus is too thick, add more reserved cooking liquid or water until you have a paste-like consistency.
4. Heat a frying pan and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread the pine nuts in the pan and stir-fry, browning on all sides.
5. To serve, transfer the hummus to a large, flat plate, and with the back of a spoon make a slight depression in the center. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top and sprinkle the reserved chickpeas, pine nuts, paprika or sumac, and parsley or cilantro over the surface.
6. Serve with cut-up raw vegetables and warm pita cut into wedges


YIELD: About four cups, or six-to-eight servings

Syrian Red Lentil Soup

This is one of Bill's faves. I think he likes the drama of the presentation (red sumac thumbprints, a dollop of Greek yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro against a bright yellow background) almost as much as the taste. Its delicious too.

2 cups red lentils
3 quarts of chicken stock
6 cloves of garlic
2 t ground coriander
1 t kosher salt
2 T vegetable oil
chopped cilantro, mint, lemon wedges, Greek yogurt, ground cumin and crushed red pepper for garnish

Simmer lentils in chicken stock for 40 minutes, until soft.
In a mortar, pound the garlic, coriander, oil and salt to a paste. Add to soup and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro, mint, cumin, sumac and crushed red pepper, as desired.
Serve with lemon wedges, a dollop of yogurt and warm bread.

Syrian Tomato-Rice Soup with Kibbeh

I took a great many liberties with a recipe for tomato rice soup in the Jewish/Syrian cookbook Aromas of Aleppo, and then adapted the results to the slow cooker. Completely fabulous and incredibly easy.

Tomato Paste
1/2 cup white rice
2 1/2 quarts beef or chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic, mashed to a paste

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cayenne
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 t olive oil
2 t raw white rice
handful of chopped fresh cilantro, plus additional for garnish

Combine tomato paste and broth in the ceramic insert of a 4 quart slow cooker. Add the rice and garlic, and set the cooker on low.

In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, spices, rice and chopped cilantro, mixing well, until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Form into 15 meatballs (kibbeh) and drop them gently into the broth in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, turning the heat up to high during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with warm bread. Serves 6

Lebanese Tahini Dressing

Rich and lemony, with loads of flavor. This dressing (my attempt at using up the half empty jar of tahini in the fridge) brightens up everything from grilled chicken to vegetable salads to sandwich wraps. I like it best slathered all over a warm round of lavash...

4 garlic cloves, minced to a paste
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tahini
1 T Ground cumin, or to taste
1 T Ground coriander, or to taste
1 T Spanish paprika, or to taste
2 T Ground sumac, or to taste
Pinch of cinammon
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley and/or cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2 cups