Levantine cuisine

Ottoman Syria (in purple) rest of visible Ottoman Empire (red)

Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, known in Arabic as the Bilad al-Sham and Mashriq, which covers a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean. It continues to carry an influentially mainstream character in a majority of the dishes today. It is found in the modern states of Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, and parts of southern Turkey near Adana, Gaziantep, and Antakya (the former Vilayet of Aleppo). Conversely, some of the dishes listed below may have early origins in neighboring regions, but have long since become traditions in the Levant.

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is meze including tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush.

Levantine dishes

Fattoush is a Levantine pita bread salad that includes mixed greens and other vegetables.

Kibbeh nayyeh

Makdous

Manakish

Mujaddara

Falafel

• Levantine salad : A salad of diced tomato, cucumber, onion, and sometimes parsley, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Other famous salads include: Artichoke salad, Beet salad, Avocado salad, Fattoush and Tabouli.
• Arak (عرق): A clear, colourless alcoholic spirit.
• Awameh (عوامة): is a kind of fried-dough Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep fried dough, soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, and sometimes sprinkled with sesame.
• Baba ghanoush (بابا غنوج): A dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings.
• Baklava (البقلاوة): A dessert made of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in syrup.
• Bamia (بامية): A stew prepared with chunks of lamb meat with okra in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice.
• Basbousa (بسبوسة): A Middle Eastern small, sweet cake of cooked semolina soaked in rose water syrup, topped with almonds or walnuts.
• Dolma (محشي): Various vegetables, typically aubergines, courgettes, onions, peppers and/or tomatoes stuffed with minced meat and rice.
• Falafel (الفلافل): Spiced mashed chickpeas formed into balls or fritters and deep-fried, usually eaten with or in pita bread and hummus.
• Fasoulia (فاصوليا): A stew prepared with dry white beans and meat served over rice.
• Fatteh (فتّة): Chicken over rice, topped with yogurt and pita bread.
• Fattoush (فتوش): A salad consisting of chopped cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and other vegetables together with fried or toasted pita bread.
• Ful medames (فول مدمس): Ground fava beans and olive oil.
• Ful medames salad (سلطة فول مدمس): It typically consists of fava beans, chopped tomatoes, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt.
• Freekeh (فريكة): A cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb tail fat.
• Halva (حلاوة) : A flour or nut-based confection including fruit or nuts.
• Hummus (الحمص): A thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and olive oil, lemon, and garlic; also common in Egypt.
• Hummus salad (سلطة حمص): is an Arab salad. It typically consists of dry chickpea, soda carbonate, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, olive oil, and cumin.
• Ka'ak (كعك): A type of biscuit/cookie shaped into a ring, occasionally sprinkled with sesame seeds.
• Kabsa (كبسة): A rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked in a variety of spices and topped with nuts over rice.
• Kanafeh (كنافة): A dessert made with shredded filo and melted cheese soaked in a sugary syrup.
• Kebab (كباب): A dish consisting of ground beef or lamb grilled or roasted on a skewer.
• Kebab karaz (كباب كرز): A type of kebab consisting of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and sour cherries over pita bread.
• Kibbeh (كبة): A dumpling-like dish of ground lamb with bulgur wheat or rice and seasonings, eaten cooked or raw.
• Kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نيئة): A mezze consisting of minced raw meat mixed with fine bulgur and various seasonings.
• Labneh (لبنة): Yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey. Most popular as a breakfast food.
• Lentil soup (شوربة عدس): A soup based on lentils; it may be vegetarian or include meat, and may use brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk.
• Limonana (ليمون نعناع): type of lemonade made from freshly-squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves.
• Ma'amoul (معمول): Semolina cookies filled with dates or walnuts, commonly sprinkled with sugar.
• Makdous (مكدوس): Stuffed oil-cured baby aubergines, said to increase appetite.
• Manakish (مناقيش): A pizza-like flatbread garnished with minced meat, thyme and/or za'atar. Commonly eaten during breakfast and dinner.
• Mansaf (المنسف): Lamb or chicken cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served over rice.
• Malfouf salad (سلطة ملفوف): is a salad of Arab salads, typically consists of juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and a healthy dose of fresh dried mint.
• Kousa Mahshi (كوسا محشي): Courgettes baked and stuffed with minced meat and rice in a tomato-based sauce.
• Maqluba (مقلوبة): A rice-based casserole which includes meat, rice, and fried vegetables placed in a pot, which is then flipped upside down when served, hence the name "maqluba", which translates literally as "upside-down".
• Markook (مرقوق): A thin, unleavened flatbread baked on an iron griddle known as a saj.
• Masgouf (مسكوف): An open-cut freshwater fish marinated with curcuma and roasted for hours in a clay oven, and served with grilled onions and tomato, pickles and salad.
• Mfarakeh (مفركة): is an Arab dish made of potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper, in addition chopped coriander leaf for garnish.
• Muhammara (محمرة): A hot pepper dip made from fresh or dried peppers, breadcrumbs, olive oil, spices and ground walnuts.
• Mujaddara (مجدرة): Cooked lentils together with groats, generally rice, and garnished with sautéed onions.
• Mulukhiyah (ملوخية): A type of stew cooked with mallow leaves that are mucillagenous like okra, and eaten with chicken in a thick broth.
• Musakhan (مسخّن): A classic Palestinian dish, composed of a whole roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread.
• Pita (خبز عربي): A soft, slightly leavened flatbread baked from wheat flour.
• Qamar al-Din (قمر الدين): A thick, cold apricot drink typically served during the month of Ramadan.
• Qatayef (قطايف): A dessert commonly served during the month of Ramadan, a sort of sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts.
• Qidra (قدرة): A stew consisting of lamb mixed with chickpeas, garlic and spices, commonly served over rice.
• Quzi (قوزي): A hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices over rice or wrapped within taboon bread.
• Raheb (سلطة راهب): is a salad with aubergines and tomatoes. It is popular in the Middle East.
• Sambusac (سمبوسك): A triangular savory pastry which is fried in ghee or oil and contains spiced vegetables or meat.
• Sfiha (صفيحة): Open-faced meat pies made with ground mutton or now lamb or beef.
• Shanklish (شنكليش): Cow's or sheep's milk cheese formed into balls of approximately 6 cm diameter, rolled in Aleppo pepper and za'atar, and then aged and dried.
• Shashlik (شاشليك): A dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat.
• Shawarma (الشاورما): Roasted meat, especially when cooked on a revolving spit and shaved for serving in sandwiches.
• Shish kebab (شيش كباب): Grilled or roasted chunks of meat prepared on a skewer, commonly served over flatbread or rice.
• Sumaghiyyeh (السماقية): The ground sumac is first soaked in water and then mixed with tahina (sesame seed paste), additional water, and flour for thickness. The mixture is then added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans.
• Tabbouleh (تبولة): A salad of bulgur mixed with finely chopped parsley, along with minced onions and tomatoes.
• Tahini (طحينة): A condiment prepared from grounded and hulled sesame seeds. It is a primary ingredient which composes baba ghanoush and hummus.
• Tepsi (التبسي): A casserole baked with minced meat, aubergine, potato and tomato slices. Served with pickles, rice and salad.
• Toum (التوم): A paste containing garlic, olive oil and salt, typically used as a dip.
• Turkish coffee (قهوة تركية): A method which involves simmering coffee beans, then served in a cup which the grounds finally settle.
• Warbat (وربات): A sweet pastry with thin layers of phyllo pastry filled with custard. Popularly eaten during Ramadan.
• Za'atar (زَعْتَر): A condiment made from the dried herb(s), mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices.
• Zalabia (زلابية): A fried dough pastry fried in balls or discs and dipped in a sweet syrup.
• Zibdieh (زبدية): Shrimp cooked with red peppers, garlic and peeled tomatoes.

Geographical varieties of Levantine cuisine

• Assyrian cuisine
• Syrian cuisine
• Iraqi cuisine
• Lebanese cuisine
• Egyptian cuisine
• Israeli cuisine
• Jordanian cuisine
• Turkish cuisine
• Cypriot cuisine
• Palestinian cuisine
• Kurdish cuisine (Syria)

See also

• Arab cuisine
• Middle Eastern cuisine
• Jewish cuisine
• Greek cuisine
• Iranian cuisine

Bibliography

• Wright, Clifford A. (2003). Little foods of the Mediterranean: 500 fabulous recipes for antipasti, tapas, hors d'oeuvre, meze, and more (Illustrated ed.). Harvard Common Press. ISBN 1-55832-227-2.

Further reading

• Sami Zubaida, "National, Communal and Global Dimensions in Middle Eastern Food Cultures" in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000, ISBN 1-86064-603-4, p. 35.
• Jean Bottéro, The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press, 2004, ISBN 0226067343

External links

• Media related to Levantine cuisine at Wikimedia Commons