Chicken, Fish, Beef, Lamb
Technique: How to roast chicken for Lebanese hushwe
We’re cooking something very special this week here on Main Street, and hopefully in your kitchen too. Hushwe is the ultimate Lebanese comfort food. A cinnamon-scented rice pilaf with beef, chicken, and nuts, hushwe packs a punch on the nutrition front. Its savory, and if you dare, buttery blend will fill you with a feeling…
Read MoreToasted Bulghur with Poached Chicken; a recipe to get you through the night
Such comfort food! Chicken and bulgur pilaf scented with cinnamon is a Lebanese favorite, one that is delicious, filling, and simple to make. As long as you are with me as I walk down memory lane like I did last week with Dimitri’s rice pudding, let’s head to the other side of town, East Lansing,…
Read MoreBaked Kibbeh: You say meatloaf, I say meatlove
Baked Kibbeh is a Lebanese tradition and a favorite way to make kibbeh. This savory dish fills the kitchen with an unforgettably delicious aroma while it’s baking. We like to eat kibbeh raw (kibbeh nayeh) the first day it’s made, then bake it in a sahnieh the next day. We aren’t the only ones making…
Read MoreKibbeh Nayeh, the raw truth
Kibbeh Nayeh, tartare of Lebanon, is specially prepared spiced raw meat with bulgur. Try this beloved Lebanese dish and see how simple and delicious it is! I never knew I was eating raw meat. Or maybe it was just that I didn’t think that “raw” was something worth noting. I simply knew it was good,…
Read MoreHow to select and prepare meat for Lebanese Kibbeh
I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I notice that many—ok, all—of the main course dishes I’ve served up here have involved red meat. It’s not that the Lebanese can’t make a meal without including beef or lamb…Lebanese and other Middle Eastern cuisines are considered so healthy, in fact, because of our extensive…
Read MoreLebanese Green Bean Stew (yahneh or lubieh)
Lebanese green bean stew (yahneh or lubieh) is even better on day two, so it’s a perfect make-ahead traditional Lebanese recipe. Also works great with leftover roast. Serve with Lebanese rice, the recipe is here. This post comes to us from my sister Peggy, our Lebanese green bean stew yahnieh-maker extraordinaire… As the youngest of…
Read MoreTechnique: How to caramelize meat for stews and braises
I asked my sister, the yahneh expert, about the what cut of meat she likes to use in this Lebanese green bean stew. “I use leftover prime rib, or chuck roast that’s leftover or fresh,” she said. “The best yahneh I ever made was with the prime rib leftover after Ruth’s funeral. Do you remember…
Read MoreSheik al Mehsheh: How eggplant healed a heart, and always welcomes us home
This Lebanese eggplant dish, Sheik al Mehsheh, is so incredibly savory and delicious! Meltingly soft eggplant, tomato sauce, and ground beef or lamb studded with toasted pine nuts, and topped with cheese (Mom’s addition!)–you will LOVE. I started falling for boys at a fairly young age. In elementary school, each year there was at least…
Read MoreStuffed Koosa. Are you a Koosa?
Stuffed Koosa is a traditional dish of light green summer squash stuffed with a meat and rice mixture, cooked in deeply savory tomato broth. Can’t find koosa? That’s just fine; use zucchini or yellow squash for delicious results. Many of us at some point or another have called a small child “pumpkin.” Sweet little thing…
Read MoreTechnique: How to core coosa, or summer squash
To make stuffed squash, or coosa mehshee (MEH-she), the squash has to be hollowed out. A special tool is used for this, and it’s typically called a zucchini corer. My search for a high-quality corer with the right-sized handle and sharp metal corer landed on making my own–that is, with an artisan from northern Michigan,…
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