Lebanese Messe

Fresh, Lebanese, organic mountain tomatoes, called “Jabaliye” in Arabic, comes from a farming hill town in Lebanon. Large, even larger when well grown. Pink, meaty and juicy... flavors of our land... flavors of nature and richness! From farmland to your fingertips, they should accompany every meal!!!

  

INGREDIENTS

1 Jabaliyeh Tomato (200 g)

4 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp of olive oil

½ tsp of salt

1 pinch of sumac

METHOD

Wash the tomato and cut into slices (thickness of 1 cm approx.).

Place the tomato slices in a plate and refrigerate.

In the meantime, crush the garlic cloves and mix them with the oil and salt to obtain a paste.

Spread the garlic paste on each tomato slice.

Sprinkle some sumac on each slice as well.

Serve as Mezze.

 

Lebanese shawarma is traditional street food but don’t worry, we are going to cook shawarma at home, using a simple grilling pan!

 

MARINADE INGREDIENTS

500g Beef, steak cuts/roast cuts/ butter steak…

1/2 tablespoon Garlic Paste

1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Allspice

1/2 teaspoon Cardamom

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon Mustakah, crushed like powder, add a dash of sugar to make it like powder

dash of Salt

6 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

4 tablespoons Whisky

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided

ONION AND PARSLEY SALAD

This salad is very easy to make and requires only a handful of ingredients, a bunch of Parsley, one White Onion, Sumac (is the main seasoning)

TAHINI SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of Tahini Paste

1 cup of Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

3 Gloves of garlic, crushed

a dash of Salt

SANDWICH INGREDIENTS

Meat

Onion and Parsley salad

Grilled Tomatoes

Pickles

Pita Bread

SHAWARMA MARINADE

Cut the meat into thin, long pieces (about 2 inches long). It will be easier to cut it if you put it in the freezer 30 minutes in advance, (like a fajita-style cut).

Mix all the spices along with the whiskey, and vinegar for a couple of minutes. Don't mix in the olive oil yet.

In a bowl, rub the meat with the marinade, then sprinkle a bit of olive oil and toss to combine. Cover and let marinate overnight in the fridge.

GRILLING SHAWARMA

Heat olive oil in a grill over medium heat then lay the marinated shawarma chunks on the grill and cook for 10-15, flipping to cook all sides.

Once cooked, this method will make the meat very tender and juicy and will almost fall apart.

PREPARING TAHINI SAUCE

In a small bowl, whisk the Tahini paste, crushed garlic, lemon juice, and salt until you turn the paste into a sauce.

ONION AND PARSLEY SALAD

Begin with washing the bunch of parsley. Cut off the stems and finely chop.

Slice the onions into thin slices.

Add the parsley, sliced onions, sumac, and a dash of salt in a bowl and give it a good mix.

SERVING SHAWARMA

Serve on a platter or, split open the pita bread and add shawarma meat slices, tomato slices, pickles, onion, and parsley salad, and the Tarator sauce inside. Roll the sandwich, repeat with remaining sandwiches. Enjoy!

Lebanon is an Arab country, distinguished by its delicious dishes that are spread in the Arab world, while some of them are famous throughout the world. Who among us does not know the Lebanese tabbouleh, for example, and the Lebanese chickpea?

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups Fine Burghul, soaked and squeezed

 Water to wash Burghul

1 teaspoon of 7 Spices

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoons Salt

1 medium Onion, finely chopped in a blender

500 g Finely Chopped Beef Meat, crushed or ground, as paste

 

FILLERS

 1 Large Onion

1 Box of Labneh, half a kilo

2 tablespoons or as needed Sumac

300 g Walnuts, roughly grounded

HOW TO PREPARE

Mix the chopped onions with the spices, or puree them in a blender. Add the spices to the ground meat, then add the soaked and squeezed burghul. Use damp hands to combine burghul with the meat mixture to make a dough. If the mixture is too dry, sprinkle with some water until softer consistency.

The dough is ready when you can form a ball with no apparent cracks.

Roughly chop the walnuts.

Add the sumac, walnuts, and finely chopped onions and stir the mixture with the labneh until well combined.

Prepare a plate of cold water to moisten your hands as you work the kibbeh balls.

Shape the kibbeh paste into a ball, hold the ball in one hand and insert the index finger of the other hand and insert the finger into the center to form a hole. Shape the ball into a thin-walled, oval-shaped, with an opening at one end by molding the ball around the finger. Fill hole with 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of the filling, then gather edges together to seal.

FILLERS: Form small kibbeh balls and stuff them with the yogurt mixture with walnuts. After making the whole amount, fry the kibbeh with vegetable oil.

You can also grill it with a little oil on it.