Lebanon, “The Gateway to the Middle East”

FoodPodcasts
Written By Elizabeth Fuller

Episode 13: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….We are talking the incredible Rosy Khalife today about all things Lebanese and Middle Eastern Cooking.

I am obsessed with Lebanese food and try to eat it as much as possible. The lemony brightness, complex cozy spices and just all around yumminess of it all really does the trick for me. Lebanese food isn’t complicated to make, it isn’t tons of steps or labor some. It’s a cuisine that is pack with tons of flavor, not a lot of heat but warming spices that really make you crave it even more. All week this week I have been doing a deep dive into the cuisine and let me tell you…it’s not going to stop at this week. A handful of these recipes will make it into the weekly rotation for sure!

Pita woes

I too tried my hand at making my own pita this week. Rosy and I both LOVE the Palestine on a Plate, cookbook and both of us highly recommend picking it up. A lot of the recipes I made this week come from this cookbook and also me calling Rosy all week asking, “How do I make this again!?” So you have Pita woes you say? Your pita won’t rise you say? Well, first check your yeast. Is it alive? What’s the expiration date? If all of those things look good then my guess is your oven wasn't hot enough. If your oven isn’t hot enough you’re not going to get a “PUFF” when you bake the pita. So try it again, make sure the oven is hot enough and I bet it’ll work out. Plus even the ones that don’t puff still taste good as chips!

Rose Water and Orange Blossom Water

I know a little goes a long way with these two ingredients but trust me when I say, you will be using them more often than you think in a lot of other ways. If you need to pick up either ingredient please go to your local middle eastern market but if that’s not an option then you can find rose water here and orange blossom water here. I love them both so much. For the rose water think Strawberry Cupcakes, Jams, maybe a fun granita or sorbet, macarons, popsicles or creamsicles. For the orange blossom water maybe it’s a fun pancake, or a plum and almond tart, add it to an apple pie or a sweet bread dough. Oh what about adding a little to a salad dressing. Here’ a link to a couple of great recipes for orange blossom water and here’s a link to a few recipes with rose water.

Our guest this week is the INCREDIBLE Rosy Khalife today. Rosy has launched a very successful company with her sister Donna, Surprise Ride, scored a deal on Shark Tank, been on The View and QVC and is currently consulting for many other companies. She’s an incredible entrepreneur and has done SO MUCH before she’s even turn 30 which is mind blowing. Check out her instagram, @rosykhalife for a daily inspiration of what she’s doing in the kitchen and in life for that matter and contact her to help you with your business questions. She’s again is INCREDIBLE!!!

So you are going to need some spices to get you going on this Lebanese adventure. Both Rosy and I like Z and Z’s Sumac and Za’atar but support whatever company you like when it comes to spices. I like single origin companies like Curio Spice, Cinnamon Tree Organics, Burlap and Barrel and Diaspora Co.

There are 7 important spices when it comes to Lebanese cookings, Black Pepper, White Pepper, All Spice, Cloves, Cinnamon, Coriander and Ginger. If you see Cumin in spice blend that claims to be a 7 spice blend for Lebanese cooking, RUN. Rosy says, “RUN!”. No, you do you but for her and her family those are the 7 spices she knows to make the most authentic food to her.

Rosy was kind enough to include some of recipes she recommends to give a try in your own kitchen.

For shawarma you need pickles. Pickles really help make this taste next level and there’s only one kind of pickle to get… this one! I was able to find it no problem at my local Lebanese Market in Norwood, MA. And I am with Rosy’s bestie…I could eat the entire jar in one sitting no problem!

A few Pro Tips:

  • Dry your own mint! Go to your local asian market and pick up a few big bunches of fresh mint. Wash them at home, place a kitchen towel on a cookie sheet or two (depending on much mint you bought) and spread out the washed mint on the sheet. Try to spread it out evenly and not on top of each other. This will help it dry out faster. Depending on where you live and how humid it is, just place it in a dry warmish spot and it will dry fairly quickly. Mine only took about two days but we have been having a dry spell up here in New England. Once it’s dry just put the leaves in a ziplock bag or a jar. It will keep for about 6 months. But you’ll use it before then.

  • Invest in a lemon farm. When cooking Lebanese food you are going to go through more lemons then you ever thought was humanly possible. So might as well buy stock now in one. No seriously, you are going to use an amazing amount of lemons.

  • Rosy likes a good garlic press from time to time because who wants their hands to smell like garlic all the time?!

  • We both love a micro grater or microplane so don’t sleep on this one. You’ll use it all the time.

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Looking forward to our next chat together! New episodes of the podcast are released every Friday. The best way to support the podcast is telling all your friends, write a review where you listen to your podcasts and keep me in mind for any food or product photography as this is what I do professionally! If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

Elizabeth Fuller https://www.elizabethrfuller.com
Previous

Traveling the World; No Plan, No Problem....

Next

Questions, Questions and More Questions!