“I remember the visits to the shawarma master whose place was filled with the scent of grilled meat, the smell of zaatar which wafted up to my parents’ house from the bakery downstairs from us, the gigantic tables mezze shared with family…” In Like in Beirut (Webedia Books, 2023), star chef Alan Geaam summons his childhood memories in Lebanon through a compilation of 80 recipes for traditional family dishes or from street food. A work which gives pride of place to man’ouches, mezze and other essentials of a Levantine cuisine much richer than we imagine. And where vegetables also have their place, like these three vegetarian… and traveling recipes.
Hindbeh
Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 25 minutes
Ingredients for 6 people
- 3 bunches of chicory (about 1.8 kg)
- 3 onions (about 300 g)
- 30 g of garlic
- 3 lemons
- salt and white pepper
- 90 ml olive oil
The preparation
Clean and slice the greens of the chicory into pieces of approximately 6 to 7 cm. Boil them for 15 to 20 minutes in a large pot of water until they are tender.
Meanwhile, peel the onions, cut them in half, then finely chop each half into thin strips. Peel and chop the garlic.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan and sauté half of the onions until they caramelize. To book.
Drain the chicory well.
In a pan, heat the rest of the olive oil, brown the rest of the onions and the garlic until they are golden, then add the chicory. Salt and pepper.
Serve the chicory in individual bowls, add the caramelized onions on top. Squeeze half a lemon per bowl when ready to enjoy.
Fried cauliflower with tarator sauce
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Ingredients for 6 people
- 1.2 kg of cauliflower (approximately 1 large cauliflower)
- frying oil
- 30 g of parsley
- 1⁄2 pomegranate
- salt and pepper
For the tarator sauce:
- 260g tahini
- 1 lemon
- 300 ml of water
- sumac
The preparation
Start by preparing the tarator sauce. Squeeze the lemon juice. Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Serve in a large bowl or in small individual bowls, with a sprinkle of sumac.
Prepare the cauliflower: wash it, remove the leaves and stem, then detach the florets.
Fry the cauliflower florets in the deep fryer at 180°C for around ten minutes, until they are golden brown. Reserve them on absorbent paper to remove excess fat. Salt and pepper.
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