Loading ...Ancient cuisine, modern flavours: Lebanese cook highlights versatility of Middle Eastern vegetarian fare
Salma Hage hooked me with her baba ganoush – smooth, garlicky, and most definitely moreish. She reeled me in with her other mezze classics: fava bean and mint falafel; sweet potato kibbeh; and beets with labneh (a tart, strained yogurt cheese).
The Lebanese cook focuses entirely on the meatless in her second book, The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook (Phaidon, 2016). Hage is not strictly vegetarian herself, but was inspired to explore a meat-free diet by her son and grandson, who are.
The brightness of fresh herbs, grains such as high protein freekeh, the prevalence of lentils, beans and other legumes, and dishes that highlight the versatile and substantial eggplant make Middle Eastern cooking a natural fit for today’s plant-based diets.
As Hage’s friend Monégasque chef Alain Ducasse writes in the book’s foreward, “this very ancient tradition is incredibly modern.”
The Mediterranean, he writes, which includes Middle Eastern nations on the southern and eastern shores of the Sea, such as Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, “has some of the most vivid and inspiring contemporary cuisines.”
Hage says that in a sense, writing a collection of vegetarian recipes was a return to the food of her childhood. The eldest of 12 children, she was often called upon to cook for the family. Meat was a luxury; vegetables and other plants a mainstay.
“It brought back old memories of the food we used to eat years ago, and I’m making it now for my family – for my son and my grandson,” Hage says.
“In Lebanon some years ago, we weren’t vegetarian by choice. We didn’t have enough money to buy meat. So we used the cheapest things: aubergines (eggplants), beans, cucumbers, tomatoes. Whatever we grew, we cooked with it.”
Hage is from Mazarat Tiffah (“Apple Hamlet”), a village in North Lebanon’s Kadisha Valley. The first dish she cooked, as a nine-year-old, was the Lebanese staple m’juderah: lentils, rice and crispy onions. A meal that just happens to be vegan kicked off her love of cooking.
Many mezzes – or small dishes – are vegetarian or vegan by nature: hummus, muhammara (a Syrian walnut-red bell pepper dip), baba ganoush, tabbouleh and falafel. Hage offers these time-honoured recipes as well as variations, such as butternut hummus, and bulgur falafel (recipe follows).
Others, she adapted from traditional meat dishes such as stuffed grape leaves and kibbeh. One of Hage’s family favourites, the former are filled with herbed tomatoes, lentils and rice.
The latter is offered in several forms in both of the typical formats: oval-shaped dumplings, and baked flat and sliced.
Kibbeh, a Levantine dish, is often made with lamb or beef, and bulgur wheat. One of Hage’s vegan versions uses chickpeas, another potato, and yet another zucchini. She also recommends using steamed butternut squash, or swapping the bulgur wheat for quinoa.
“I try to do different things for variety,” she says, adding that cutting out meat has resulted in her using familiar vegetables in new ways.
Now retired, Hage worked as a professional cook in England for more than 30 years. “I like to cook. I like to feed people. I like to see people happy. And that’s what I do now when I cook for my family,” she says.
Recipes adapted from The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage (Phaidon, $49.95, April 2016).
BULGUR FALAFEL
Makes: 8
½ cup (75 g) fine bulgur wheat
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
⅔ cup (125 g) dried bread crumbs
¾ cup (75 g) dried bread crumbs
1 small bunch parsley, leaves only
1 small bunch mint, leaves only
1 onion, finely chopped
½ tsp (2 ml) Lebanese 7-Spice Seasoning (recipe follows)
½ tsp (2 ml) ground cumin
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
Salt and pepper
1. Soak the bulgur in ⅓ cup (75 ml) boiling water for 15 minutes, or as directed on the package. Drain well.
2. Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted boiling water for 8 minutes, or until tender. Drain and let stream, then transfer to a bowl.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, boil the lentils in plenty of unsalted boiling water until tender. Drain well.
4. In a blender or food processor, combine the potatoes, lentils, bulgur wheat, ½ teaspoon pepper, and all the remaining ingredients except for the oil. Pulse to combine, but do not overprocess: the mixture should be smooth but retain some texture. Season well.
5. Mould the mixture into 8 equal patties, ½-¾ inch/1-3 cm thick. Flour them to prevent them from sticking, if necessary.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Cook the patties in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden, crisp, and heated through. Serve warm.
LEBANESE 7-SPICE SEASONING
Makes: about 1 3/4 cups (175 g)
5 tbsp (75 ml) ground allspice
3 1/2 tbsp (55 ml) pepper
3 1/2 tbsp (55 ml) ground cinnamon
5 tbsp (75 ml) ground cloves
4 tbsp (60 ml) grated nutmeg
4 tbsp (60 ml) ground fenugreek
4 tbsp (60 ml) ground ginger
1. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
LITTLE DAMASCUS KIBBEH WITH PINE NUTS
Makes: 12 kibbeh
for the shell:
3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced
1 cup (7 oz/200 g) farina (coarse semolina)
1½ cups (11 oz/300 g) fine bulgur wheat
Small bunch parsley, leaves chopped
Small bunch cilantro (coriander), leaves chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Lebanese 7-Spice Seasoning (recipe above)
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
for the stuffing:
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
¼ tsp (1 ml) pepper
¼ tsp (1 ml) Lebanese 7-Spice Seasoning (recipe above)
2 small potatoes, peeled and finely diced
⅓ cup (50 g) pine nuts sea salt
for the sauce:
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped olive oil for frying
½ tsp (2 ml) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
½ tsp (2 ml) pepper
1 tbsp (15 ml) all-purpose flour
3½ oz/100 g tomato paste
1. For the Kibbeh shell, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, then return to the saucepan over low heat to dry them out. Mash and season well, then let cool until easy to handle.
2. In a bowl, combine the farina (coarse semolina) and enough lukewarm water to just cover it and soak for 20 minutes. Rinse the bulgur wheat. Drain both in fine mesh strainer.
3. Combine all the kibbeh shell ingredients, except the oil, into a bowl and mix with your hands to bring everything together like a dough. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest.
4. To make the stuffing, heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan over medium heat and sauté the onion for 10-12 minutes, until softened. Stir in the pepper and spice, then add the potatoes and pine nuts, season well, and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked. Stir occasionally.
5. Take gold-ball portions of the chilled kibbeh shell mixture and use your hands form a lemon-shape oval. Push a finger into the ball (not right through) to form a hole through the middle and fill with a teaspoon of the stuffing. Seal the hole with a pinch. Or, flatten the mixture into a disk, then mold it around a teaspoon of the filling using wet hands. Repeat with the rest of the mixture to make 12 kibbeh. The kibbeh can be frozen at this stage (defrost thoroughly before cooking).
6. Pour vegetable oil into a large, deep saucepan to 1½-2 inches/4-5 cm and set over medium heat. For best results, deep-fry the kibbeh at 325-350°F/170-180°C for 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown. If you don’t have thermometer, drop a little of mixture in and check that it browns and rises to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to carefully lower the kibbeh into the oil and cook in small batches of 4-5 at a time. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.
7. To make the sauce, cook the onion and garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, and flour, followed by the tomato paste (puree) and scant 2 cups (7 oz/200 ml) water. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Transfer the kibbeh into the sauce and serve in bowls.
CHICKPEA AND FREEKEH SALAD
Makes: 4 servings
generous 1 cup (250 g) cracked or whole-grain freekeh, rinsed (see Note)
3 tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 eggplants
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Small bunch parsley, leaves chopped
Small bunch mint, leaves chopped
1 (14 oz/400 g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Handful sun-dried tomatoes in oil
Salt and pepper
1. Put the freekeh in a saucepan, with a generous 2 cups (500 ml) cold water, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the grains become tender, adding more water if necessary. This will take about 10 minutes for cracked freekeh and up to 45 minutes for whole-grain freekeh.
2. While the freekeh is cooking, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3. Slice the eggplants length wise into ½-inch/1-cm slices and place on a baking sheet, skin side down. Score the flesh and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the garlic onto the eggplant slices and drizzle on a little oil. Roast for 30 minutes, until soft and golden.
4. When the freekeh is cooked, drain off any excess water and let cool.
5. Transfer the freekeh to a large bowl and add the roasted eggplant, herbs, chickpeas, and sun-dried tomatoes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil –or use oil from the sun-dried tomatoes instead for a greater flavour. Season well and serve.
Note: Freekeh is made from young, durum wheat, which is roasted while still soft and green. In the Middle East, the grain is sold both whole and cracked but in Canada you’re most likely to find it in its cracked form. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets, bulk stores, or online.