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Awesome Traditional Lebanese Ingredients & Cooking Techniques

Lebanese Ingredients

Lebanese cuisine has been around for thousands of years and amazingly little has changed since ancient times, with the secret to this healthy and delicious food still being fresh ingredients and time tested techniques. As Lebanese food continues to rise in popularity around the world, we look at some of the most awesome traditional Lebanese ingredients & cooking techniques. Let’s take a look at a few of the essential elements of traditional Lebanese cooking.

Awesome Traditional Lebanese Ingredients & Cooking Techniques
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Traditional Lebanese food is famous for its fresh ingredients with everything from mint and parsley to cucumber and tomatoes playing key roles in classic dishes.

 

Traditional Lebanese Food Ingredients

Fresh herbs and vegetables

Traditional Lebanese food is famous for its fresh ingredients with everything from mint and parsley to cucumber and tomatoes playing key roles in classic dishes. Regardless of whether you are preparing a falafel wrap, a shawarma or salads such as tabouleh or fattoush, they simply wouldn’t be the same without the burst of flavour provided by fresh local ingredients.

top lebanese ingredients

Bread

In Lebanese cuisine nothing is more important than bread as we eat fresh baked pita with every meal of the day. Pita provides the perfect way to enjoy our many dips, such as hommus and baba ghannouj; it is the ideal vessel for encasing falafel balls or marinated meats, or you can simply slather your pita with labne for a fast and healthy breakfast.

main lebanese cooking techniques
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Tahini

Made from crushed sesame seeds, tahini has been a core part of Lebanese cuisine for thousands of years. Apart from being a central ingredient in any authentic hommus, tahini is added as a dressing to everything from falafel wraps to shawarmas, making it an essential element in any Lebanese kitchen.

traditional lebanese food

Legumes

Our cuisine also includes plenty of legumes, particularly chick peas and lentils, both of which have a wide range of health benefits. Chick peas are the star of the show in classics such as falafel and hommus, while one of our most popular dishes, mujadara, basically consists of lentils, onions and rice.

traditional lebanese cooking

Lamb

While Lebanese food nowadays can contain anything from beef to lamb to chicken, lamb is the traditional meat of choice. Our many mouth-watering lamb dishes include our national dish, kebbeh nayeh, as well as our wildly popular ground lamb kufta kebabs.

lebanese cooking techniques
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Traditional Lebanese Cooking Techniques

Vertical roasting

Since the early days of the Ottoman occupation Lebanese cooks have been roasting meat on vertical spits; this enables the meat to cook in its own fats and juices making it tender and delicious. Our most famous dish utilising the vertical roasting technique is none other than shawarma.

Grilling

Few cultures have been grilling longer than we have, with our traditional ground lamb kufta kebabs one of our most famous grilled specialties. Lebanese cuisine also includes a variety of grilled skewers that can include all manner of meats and vegetables.

Baking

Wood fired ovens have been in use in the Middle East for eons, so it should come as no surprise that Lebanese people have mastered the art of baking. Our many baked specialties include the flat bread ‘Lebanese pizzas’ known as manoosh, as well as our impossibly delicious baklava.

Frying

While Lebanese don’t tend to cook in oil very much frying certainly has its place in a true Lebanese kitchen, particularly when it comes to preparing the perfect falafel balls or a delicious batch of fried kebbeh.

Get the year started off right by treating yourself to some of Sydney’s most delicious and authentic Lebanese food. Simply drop by Manoosh or order from us online, because you haven’t lived until you have tasted our traditional Lebanese cuisine.

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What is Hommus? And Why We Should All Be Eating More of it

Few elements of traditional Lebanese food are more popular or better known than hommus, so if you haven’t discovered this ancient delicacy yet you are in for a real treat. Also known as hummus, humos, hummous and hoummus, the word itself is actually the Arabic term for chickpeas and nowadays you can find this popular food in almost every country on earth. Here we will take a closer look at what hommus is, where it came from and why life simply wouldn’t be the same without it.

what is hommus
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The health benefits of chickpeas have been known for millennia, although primarily chickpea based, these days you can find hommus that contains everything from capsicum to sweet potato

What is hommus?

While most consider hommus to be a dip, it can also be spread on a sandwich or eaten as a complete meal all on its own. These days you can find hommus that contains everything from capsicum to sweet potato; however, most people will agree that authentic Lebanese hommus has four basic ingredients – chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic.

An ancient and delicious mystery

It seems that hommus has been around for so long that no one really knows when it was first made, though it appears to have been created by the Ancient Mesopotamians thousands of years ago. The core ingredients of hommus are among the oldest known to mankind (with chick peas being one of the first crops ever cultivated); however, the earliest written evidence of a dish resembling hommus doesn’t emerge until the 13th Century in Egypt. The lack of written evidence prior to this point is likely due to the fact that communication between people was extremely limited during ancient times and few could even write.

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Healthy and nutritious

The health benefits of chickpeas have been known for millennia and were a vital source of nutrition for everyone from the Ancient Romans and Egyptians to the nomadic tribes who travelled throughout the region. By adding garlic, tahini and lemon juice, hommus becomes almost a type of super food – high in protein, vitamin B6, vitamin C, zinc, iron, folate, phosphorous, sodium, manganese and dietary fibre.

Making hommus

Every Lebanese family has their own secret recipe for making authentic hommus, though the basic technique is relatively simple.

  • Rinse chick peas and soak them overnight in water.
  • Strain the chick peas, add fresh water and cook them.
  • Once cooked, strain the chick peas again before grounding them into a rough paste. (You can do so by using a food processor or simply mashing them with a large wooden spoon)
  • Add crushed garlic, tahini and lemon juice and mix thoroughly. If you’d like to add your own special ingredients, such as olives, peppers or sun dried tomatoes, do so now and mix well.
  • Your hommus is now ready to eat! It will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge if covered well or you can freeze hommus and it will be good for up to 6 months.

best lebanese hommus sydney

You won’t find many foods that are healthier, tastier or more Lebanese than hommus and none can compare to our delicious and authentic version here at Manoosh. To get a taste of our heavenly hommus order from us online or drop by and see us in person, because we have a fresh batch right here waiting for you!

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Traditional Ingredients Blog Lebanese Food

The Mighty Mezze

Mezze

There is no greater symbol of Lebanese culture than the mighty mezze, as not only does it involve eating lots of healthy and delicious food (usually in the form of a smorgasbord-like spread), but it is all about enjoying quality time with family, friends and loved ones. While the word itself is derived from the Persian term “maze” – meaning ‘to snack’ – don’t let the name fool you, because an authentic mezze is certainly no appetizer. While there are no strict rules regarding what a mezze should comprise, to be considered an authentic Lebanese version the following elements are a must.

best mezze inner west
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No one knows how to enjoy a quality meal quite like the Lebanese as every dish is viewed as a reason to celebrate.

Bread

You simply can’t have a traditional mezze without fresh baked bread as it provides the perfect vessel with which to enjoy all of those delicious dips and tasty morsels. While pita is the most popular bread commonly included on a mezze table you may also find a plate or two of paper-thin bread known as marqouq.

Manoosh lebanese bread sydney
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Haloumi

If you like cheese you will absolutely love haloumi and any self-respecting mezze will always feature a plate or two of this heavenly hard white cheese. Although not strictly Lebanese in origin, Haloumi has now become a Lebanese staple. Made from a combination of sheep and goat’s milk, haloumi is perfect for grilling and its wonderfully salty flavour will keep you coming back for more.

Tabbouleh

This classic Lebanese dish has been part of our cultural cuisine for thousands of years and is an essential element of any mezze. Featuring bulgur wheat, tomatoes, parsley, mint, cucumber, olive oil and lemon juice, tabbouleh is healthy, delicious and provides a touch of freshness perfect for those hot summer days.

the secret of terrific tabbouleh

Falafel

No mezze table can be considered authentic without falafel. Apart from providing a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals and a taste that is impossible to match, falafel balls provide the perfect way to enjoy all those delicious dips, making them so easy to devour and enjoy.

best mezze inner west

Hommus

A traditional mezze needs to have plenty of tasty dips and none are more important than hommus. This classic mezze mainstay is made from a blend of chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and a healthy drizzle of olive oil, and it is as full of flavour as it is good for you.

Baba Ghanouj

This mouth-watering eggplant delicacy is always one of the most popular elements of any authentic Lebanese mezze. Baba ghanouj has a unique flavour and personality that goes perfectly with fresh bread, falafel or even a slice of grilled haloumi.

Olives

Lebanese people are rather fond of their olives and so you can expect to see both the green and black varieties on any mezze table. When enjoying mezze in Lebanon it is common to be treated to a selection of fresh olives that have been grown by your host, or at least by a friend, neighbour or cousin.

lebanese mezze

No one knows how to enjoy a quality meal quite like the Lebanese as every dish is viewed as a reason to celebrate. If you’d like to enjoy an authentic mezze with your friends or family drop by Manoosh or order from us online. We have the best mezze in the inner-west and are experts in the art of modern and traditional Lebanese food

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The Secrets of Terrific Tabbouleh

tabbouleh

Few dishes are more closely associated with Lebanese culture than tabbouleh and you won’t find a fresher, healthier or tastier food anywhere in the world. Here we will take a brief look at the history of this amazing food as well as some of the secrets behind its popularity.

the secret of terrific tabbouleh

Few foods have won over the hearts of their fans quite like tabbouleh, particularly in Lebanon where there is even a national day celebrated in its honour.

What is Tabbouleh?

Refreshing, healthy and delicious, tabbouleh is often referred to as a salad though many Lebanese view it as a dish in its own right. Regardless of how you define it, tabbouleh is one of Lebanon’s most popular foods and is perfectly suited for those long, hot Mediterranean summers.

The Origin of Tabbouleh

The name tabbouleh comes from the Arabic word ‘taabil’ which means to season or spice and tabbouleh is thought to have first been eaten in the mountains of Lebanon and Syria more than 4000 years ago. Ancient scholars believe that herbs known as ‘qadb’ formed a crucial part of the Arab diet throughout the Middle Ages and were used as the basis of many popular dishes, including tabbouleh.

Variations of tabbouleh can be found throughout the Middle East and beyond, from the Armenian ‘eetch’ to the Turkish ‘kisir’ right through to the Cypriot ‘tambouli’. Lebanese immigrants even introduced a version of tabbouleh to the Dominican Republic known as ‘tipile’.

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The Secret Ingredients…

As with most Middle Eastern food, the secret to authentic tabbouleh is based on fresh local ingredients and while there are many different versions, the following should be considered essential elements.

Bulgur – One of tabbouleh’s most recognizable ingredients, bulgur is made from wheat berries that have been partially ground, cooked and dried. The best wheat for making bulgur is grown in the mountains of Lebanon, Syria and nearby Jordan and is known as salamouni.

Parsley – Tabbouleh’s greens are provided mostly in the form of fresh parsley; however, mint, green onions and even cucumber are sometimes added as well.

Tomatoes – No tabbouleh is complete without a healthy dose of finely chopped tomatoes and the fresher they are the better.

Seasonings – Quality olive oil is an absolute must as is a serious splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you are looking for a little extra kick add a clove of garlic or two.

the origin of tabbouleh
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Health Benefits

Tabbouleh isn’t just delicious; it is extremely good for you as well! Apart from the vitamins and minerals provided by the fresh greens, tomatoes and lemon juice, bulgur is a fantastic source of protein, fibre and essential minerals. Olive oil comes with countless benefits as well, from helping to lower blood pressure right through to reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

A Salad Worth Celebrating

Few foods have won over the hearts of their fans quite like tabbouleh, particularly in Lebanon where there is even a national day celebrated in its honour. The first Saturday of July each year is known as National Tabbouleh Day, with people getting together to enjoy this beloved dish in homes, parks and restaurants all over the country.

Life simply isn’t complete without a bowl of tabbouleh every now and again. If you’d like to try authentic Lebanese tabbouleh made the way it was meant to be, drop by Manoosh or order online, because when it comes to fresh and healthy Lebanese food we simply can’t be beat.