Hummus (also hommos, hamos, houmous, hommus, hummous, humus, homous, arabic حُمُّص‎) is a dip made of ground chickpeas, sesame tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.

In Arabic the word hummus is used to describe the dish or just chickpeas on their own. The full name of the dish is hummus bi tahina (Arabic: حُمُّص بطحينة‎)  chickpeas with tahini.

Hummus is popular in various local forms throughout the Middle Eastern world where it probably originated from. It is served as a Mezza with the main dish.
 Ingredients

• 1 cup dry chickpeas
• water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Tahini (T’hina) and water, to make a paste; fresh lemon juice can be substituted for some of the water [do not use preserved lemon juice!]
• Salt

Procedure

Note that steps 1-3 can be skipped if you buy a can of an already cooked chickpeas.

1. In a large pot, add the chick peas, 2.5 cups of water, and baking soda.Leave to soak for 6-12 hours.
2. Rinse.
3. Add the rinsed peas to 3 cups of water, the garlic and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. After about 45 minutes, they should swell enough for their skins to come off. Give it a stir, and use a sieve spoon to remove as much of the skins as you can from the water.
4. Cover the pot and continue cooking for about 2 hours, or until they almost dissolve to a paste.
5. Pour out the water [option: some can be reserved to add later, for extra flavor].
6. Mash the peas by pressing them through a pasta sieve. DO NOT use a food processor!
7. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
8. Add tahini and water until you get the right consistency.
9. Some cooks add tahini concentrate and lemon juice, instead of diluted tahini.
10. Serve with olive oil, onions, and mint leaves

Samkeh Harrah (also hot fish, samkeh 7arra, samki 7arra, arabic سمكة حرة, سمكة حرة طرابلسية) is a delicious Lebanese dish originating in the coastal city of Tripoli. It is known as a very healthy and energetic dish. Many famous small restaurants in the Mina (port) of Tripoli still serve this meal in Lebanese (Pita) bread.

Ingredients

• 1 kg fried or grilled fish flaked
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• ½ cup finely chopped coriander
• ½ cup ground pine nuts, almonds, and pistachio nuts
• 3 cups sesame paste sauce (Taratour)
• 1 tbls dried coriander
• a dash of ground paprika
• ½ tspn ground chili (red pepper)
• ½ tspn ground cumin
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ tspn salt

Procedure

1. Fry in hot oil onion, bell pepper, and coriander until soft.
Stir in spices, salt and ground nuts.
2. Pour sesame paste sauce over the mixture, stir constantly on medium heat until the oil’s bubbles appear and the mixture thickens.
3. Pour mixture in serving platter. Garnish with fish flakes, lemon wedges, fried pine nuts and some chopped parsley.

Stuffed Grape Leaves (also dolma, warak inib, warak inab, wara2 3inib, wara2 3inab, arabic ورق عنب) is a stuffed grape leaf dish famous in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, including Turkey, Armenia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Greece, and Central Asia. 
 
 

Ingredients

• 1/4 stick of butter/margarine
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 Kg of chopped beef
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice

Procedure

1. Stuffing: wash rice, melt butter. Mix rice, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add melted butter and stir. Add chopped meat a mix well.
2. Wash grape leaves and lay flat with dull side up. Stuff with meat and roll.(Place a small amount of meat near stem section of leaf. Curl over the leaf to cover meat, fold in the sides and roll the leaf into a cigar shape.)
3. On the bottom of pan place either meat bones or unstuffed grapleaves in pan and add water until grape leaves are covered. Add 2 tablespoons of butter/margarine. Cook on high until water boils, lower heat and let cook for another hour or until rice is cooked. place a dish on top of grape leaves while cooking to keep them down. When grape leaves are cooked add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Kibbeh Nayyeh (also kibbee, kubba, kebbeh, kebbi, Arabic كبة نية or كبة نيئة) is a common Mezze meal in Lebanon. It consists of minced raw lamb meat mixed with bulgur and spices. Bulgur (or in the local Lebanese accent “burghol”), is prepared from wheat. The wheat is boiled then dried again, and this is ground into smaller grains. There can be 2 sizes, the fine (smaller) size is used with Kebbeh Nayyeh. Kebbeh Nayyeh is often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers, and green onions. Pita bread is used to eat it.

Ingredients

• 1 kg Round steak or lamb (the leanest, no fat whatsoever)
• 3/4 cup Fine bulgar
• 1 Green onion
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• Spray of pepper
• Olive oil

Procedure

1. Put bulgur in a bowl and cover with warm water. The water should cover the bulgur and be about 2 cms above the bulgur. Let soak until water is absorbed and bulgur is soft.(about 1/2 hour)
2. Remove all fat and membranes from meat  ( I prefer lamb  )  and grind twice. ( it is better grounded by hands not a food processor )
3. Combine meat, bulgur, cumin, salt, other spices, chopped parsley and one chopped (finely chopped) green onion. Mix by hand until thoroughly mixed ( smash it on a marble slab ).
4. Pat kibbee onto a serving platter and chill well. Remove just before serving.
5. Make a hole in middle of kibbee and fill with olive oil, garnish with parsley. Serve with pita bread.

Fattoush (Arabic , فتوش ; also fatoush, fatush) is a Lebanese salad, the primary ingredient of which is toasted pita bread. The dressing constists of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt. Other ingredients include red pepper, cucumber, lettuce and tomato. It allows cooks to use seasonal produce by mixing different vegetables and herbs according to taste.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sumac powder
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped purslane
• 1/2 (5 ounce) package arugula
• 4 pita rounds, toasted and torn into pieces

Directions

1. Mix the water and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until thickened. Remove from heat, and mix in lemon juice, garlic, sumac, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, parsley, mint, bell pepper, purslane, and arugula. Toss with the dressing, and serve with fried crushed pita.

Mjaddra (also Mjadra, Mjeddrah, Mjedrah) is a stout lentil and rice stew, a Lebanese staple.

Ingredients

• ½ cup brown lentils, soaked an hour or more
• ½ cup long grain brown rice, rinsed
• 3 cups water
• ½ cup onion, sliced
• ½ teaspoon whole or ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Pick over the lentils to remove any stones.
2. Sauté the onion and any other vegetables in the olive oil for a minute or two. Optionally, sauté the rice for a short time but do not let it burn.
3. Add the water and other ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour. You will have to check it occasionally and add water - the final product should have some liquid but should not be very soupy. It is finished when the rice and lentils are both no longer crunchy.

Tabbouleh (Arabic: تبولة‎; also Tabbouleh, tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli) is a Lebanese salad dish, often used as part of a mezze. Its primary ingredients are bulgur, finely chopped parsley, mint, tomato, scallion (spring onion), and other herbs with lemon juice and various seasonings, generally including black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice. In Lebanon, where the dish originated, it is often eaten by scooping it up in Romaine lettuce leaves.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup bulgur
• 1 bunch fresh parsley (preferably flat leaf), finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh mint. Pick leaves only, finely chopped
• 1 large diced tomato
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp pepper, or to taste

Procedure

1. Place the bulgur in the lemon juice and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. When the bulgur is soft, mix all the ingredients: bulgur, parsley, mint, tomato, onion. lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add olive oil last, and toss well. You may need to add lemon juice if needed.