Feast from the Middle East: Hummus, Arabic Salad, Warak Diwali, Kibbeh

Middle Eastern food has reached all corners of the world. At the very least, I have seen kababs and falafel in just about every country I have visited. The flavors differ, depending on the origins of the cook. Preparing Middle Eastern food at home is not too complicated since meals comprise of simple but fresh ingredients, and some key spices such as sumac, za’atar, all spice, cumin, and lots of fresh herbs, lemon and garlic, and, of course, olive oil. I’ve had amazing and reasonably priced olive oils from Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

When Middle Easterners cook, portions are big! Getting invited to a Middle Eastern home for dinner is a great. An array of dishes is laid out on the table. Dining is about family and togetherness.

Recently, I was lucky to be taught how to make some great Middle Eastern food. Here is what I learned.

Lina and Marie’s Homemade Hummus

Have you ever made hummus that just didn’t taste quite right and wondered how you could go wrong if it’s so easy to prepare? I know I have. I once made hummus from one can of garbanzo beans for a party of eight and ¾ of it was still left over after my guests went home. So when my sister-in-law raved about her good friend jewelry designer Lina Shatara’s homemade hummus, I asked Lina and her sister Marie to teach me how to get it right.

I used to add olive oil into the food processor with the other ingredients. Lina taught me to add olive oil at the end, on top of the hummus, rather than mixing it into the hummus.

Once you have the basic hummus recipe down, you can get creative and add anything that sounds good, such as garlic, lemon zest, hot peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs. There are many possibilities. This easy recipe uses canned garbanzo beans. As always, try to find a can of garbanzo with no unnatural additives.

Ingredients:

- 1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) - 1 tbsp tahini - Juice of one lemon (or more to taste) - Salt to taste - Olive oil - One small garlic clove (optional) - A bit of chopped jalapeno (optional)

Preparation:

1. Open the can of garbanzo beans and drain the juice into a bowl. Save the juice. It is key to making good hummus. Save a few garbanzo beans for garnishing.

2. Put the garbanzo beans into a food processor. Add the lemon juice, salt, tahini and 2 tbsp of the liquid from the can. Blend together until it is very smooth. Add more liquid from the can or lemon juice until it has a good consistency. It should not be too thick. Taste for seasoning. This is your basic hummus.

3. If desired add garlic or jalapeno. Blend again. Be sure to add very little garlic at a time because raw garlic has a strong flavor that can be off putting in large quantities.

4. Transfer the hummus to a bowl. With the back of a spoon, flatten the top of the hummus to make it look nice. Garnish with your best olive oil and the reserved garbanzo beans. I sprinkled a bit of sumac on top to give it some more color. Lina added a little bit of parsley.

Arabic Salad

This is a very cool, refreshing salad. It’s easy to make. But it is important to find an English or Persian cucumber. Both varieties are seedless. Lina and Marie brought along Persian cucumbers, which can be found at Middle Eastern markets.

Ingredients:

- Tomatoes - English or Persian Cucumbers - Green Onions - Lemons - Salt - Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Dice tomatoes and cucumber.

2. Finely chop the green onions.

3. Add Olive Oil, lemon juice and salt to taste.

Warak Diwali (stuffed grape leaves) - Vegetarian

A stuffed grape leaf is almost ubiquitously known as dolma, except for among communities of people who know the differences. Warak Diwali is the Palestinian version, and it is cooked in a tomato sauce. Lina and Marie learned to prepare this from their Palestinian grandmother. I’m so honored to have her recipe. Here is the step-by-step preparation.

Ingredients:

- 1 jar of soaked grape leaves - 2 cups of CalRose or pearl rice - Tomatoes, finely chopped - White Onion, finely chopped - Curly parsley, finely chopped - Salt - Lemon Juice - Olive Oil - Tomato paste

Preparation:

1. Rinse the rice a few times. Soak the rice in water for 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse the grape leaves well under running tap water. Line the bottom of a large soup pot with some fully intact grape leaves, and place any broken grape leaves from the jar on top.

2. Place the rest of the grape leaves on a cutting board.

3. Mix rice with the tomatoes, onions, and parsley. Add salt, lemon juice and olive oil to taste.

4. Take a grape leave and cut off the thicker part of the stem.

5. Lay grape leaf flat and place a small spoonful of the rice mixture in the center of the grape leaf to form a line the size of your pinky finger.

6. Fold corner of leaves to the center around the rice and begin rolling the grape leaf.

7. Stack the rolled grape leaves in the pot.

8. Mix the tomato paste with water to a thin soup-like consistency. Pour this mixture over the leaves in the pot so that it just covers the top of the leaves.

9. Place a ceramic plate directly on the grape leaves. [This will weigh the stuffed grape leaves down so that the grape leaves don’t unravel while they are cooking.>

10. Place lid on pot and cook on medium heat for approximately 50 min to one hour.

Kibbeh with Yogurt Sauce

I made a non-vegetarian contribution to the dinner. It turned out to be quite popular. Kibbeh, sometimes called kubbeh, are meatballs prepared with lamb and bulgur. When fried, the bulgur provides a lovely crispy nutty texture to the meatballs. Bulgur is easily found in grocery stores. Play around with the seasonings. Kibbeh recipes may include cumin, pine nuts or all spice, among other spices. I added sumac that Lina and Marie brought me as a gift. Ground sumac is a wonderfully fragrant spice made of a tart berry-like fruit. You will love it. You can try your grocery store, but might have better luck at a Middle Eastern grocery store.

Kibbeh are very easy to prepare, so I suggest you have the raw lamb balls ready and fry then when your guests are getting ready to eat. Making small lamb balls – teaspoon size – will cook up very quickly. I made the mistake of trying to keep them warm in the oven and they ended up getting a bit soggy. (And they were still popular!)

Ingredients

- 1 lb ground lamb - ½ cup bulgur - 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped - ½ - ¾ tsp garam masala - ½ - ¾ tsp sumac - 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves - 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill - Salt - Pepper - Olive oil (for frying)

Preparation:

1. First prepare the bulgur. Boil 1 cup of water and pour over the bulgur. Add a couple of pinches of salt. Cover and leave for 7-10 minutes. Drain any excess water.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the olive oil. Wet your palms slightly and form the kibbeh into little balls. I like to make them small and crispy.

3. Fry the balls in olive oil until a deep golden color. Serve with yogurt sauce.

Yogurt sauce

Grate a cucumber and sprinkle a bit of salt over it. Let it drain in the sink on a colander for a few minutes. Squeeze out excess water. Beat a cup of yogurt until very smooth. You may add in a tablespoon of sour cream if you wish. Fold in the grated cucumber. Add one tablespoon of finely chopped fresh dill and one finely minced garlic clove. Add a few pinches of ground cumin. Beat it all together. Taste for seasoning. Sprinkle sumac on top. If you don’t have sumac, you can opt for a different flavor like paprika or red chili powder.

Nibbles and Dessert

We had a large group of people coming by, so we added in a few other things to nibble.

A bowl of assorted olives.

We set out a bowl full of labneh, a type of cream cheese made from yogurt. It is delicious on its own, especially when served with a great olive oil. You can either fill the bowl with labneh and drizzle oil on top, or pour some oil directly on a plate and place a slice of labneh on top.

I bought some amazing baklava from a local store. Not a single piece was left. It was the best way to end this amazing feast.

Sources: There are many online sources for Middle Eastern foods and spices. Kalustyans.com has everything from everywhere, but ideally, try to find a local Middle Eastern market that supplies fresh produce and good meat too.