Middle East - Anthony Ham [78]
In Lebanon, nothing beats grabbing a freshly baked fatayer bi sbanikh (spinach pastry) from one of the hole-in-the-wall bakeries that dot city streets. In Turkey, visitors inevitably fall deeply in love with melt-in-the-mouth su böreği, a noodle-like pastry oozing cheese and butter. Fast-food vendors in Syria, ever the culinary polyglot, have never been shy of borrowing these snacks and claiming them as Syria’s own.
Variations of the pizza abound, one of the most delicious being Egypt’s fiteer, featuring a base of thin, filo-style pastry. Try it topped with salty haloumi cheese, or even with a mixture of sugar-dusted fruit. In Turkey, the best cheap snack is pide, the Turkish version of pizza, a canoe-shaped dough topped with peynirli (cheese), yumurtalı (egg) or kıymalı (mince). A karaşık pide will have a mixture of toppings.
The most unassuming of all Middle Eastern fast foods is also one of the most popular. Fuul is mopped up by bread for breakfast and ladled into a pocket of bread for a snack on the run. You’ll find it in Egypt (where it’s the national dish), Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Kebabs & Other Meats
There are more variations on the kebab in this part of the world than you could poke a skewer at. Every country has its specialities – Syria has the delicious kebab Halebi (Aleppine kebab, served with a spicy tomato sauce), Turkey is understandably proud of its luscious İskender kebap (döner kebap on a bed of pide bread with a side serving of yogurt) and Lebanon has an unswerving devotion to shish tawooq (grilled chicken kebab, often served with a garlic sauce).
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British soldiers stationed in the Middle East during WWII used to call kibbeh ‘Syrian torpedoes’, which describes their shape rather well.
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The kebab might be king, but when it comes to meat dishes there are courtiers waiting in the wings. Primary among these is kibbeh, which is a strong candidate for the right to be called Lebanon’s national dish. Indeed, these croquettes of ground lamb, cracked wheat, onion and spices are considered the ultimate test of a Lebanese cook’s skills. Before the arrival of food processors, the matron of the household or village pulverised lamb for the kibbeh in a mortar and pestle. To produce an even texture requires great skill and strength in the arms. Driving through the mountains of Lebanon on a Sunday morning you can still hear the chimes of these stone ‘food processors’ like church bells calling the faithful to eat.
Kibbeh may be elevated to an art form in Lebanon, but you’ll find them in different variations across the region. In Damascus they’re shaped into mini footballs and stuffed with spiced lamb, pine nuts and walnuts, then shallow-fried until golden brown. In Beirut they’re served raw like a steak tartare, accompanied with fresh mint leaves, olive oil and spring onions. Raw kibbeh (kibbeh nayye) has many variations. In northern Lebanon you often find mint and fresh chillies mixed through the meat. In Aleppo, a chilli paste is layered on top of the kibbeh with walnuts and onions. Kibbeh saniye is kibbeh flattened out on a tray with a layer of spiced lamb and pine nuts in between. This is served with natural yogurt on the side.
Another culinary star is kofta (spiced ground meat formed into balls; köfte in Turkey), which is served in innumerable ways and is the signature element of the Egyptian favourite daood basha (meatballs cooked in a tagen pot with pine nuts and tomato sauce).
In Syria and Egypt fatta (an oven-baked dish of bread soaked in tahini, chickpeas and minced meat or chicken) is a favourite breakfast dish – it will either set you up for the day or have you counting down the hours until your siesta, such is its density.
Even more common than these dishes is one simple but delicious meal that you’ll find throughout the region: roast chicken accompanied by salad, bread and hummus or tahini.
Rice Dishes