Classic Lebanese Cuisine: 170 Fresh And Healthy Mediterranean Favorites

From the Inside Flap The cuisine of Lebanon epitomizes the best of the Mediterranean diet, which is esteemed for its health benefits. Abounding in a wealth of heart-healthy ingredients—including fresh vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices; poultry; lamb; yogurt; and olive oil—it yields meals replete with robust, earthy flavors. In Classic Lebanese Cuisine , a leading chef presents 170 dazzling recipes that reflect the full breadth of authentic Lebanese cuisine. Many recipes include several variations, giving you the option of preparing a vegetarian dish or adding chicken, lamb, or beef.Featuring favorites such as baba ghannouj , tabbouli, and kibbi, and a large variety of Lebanese classics ranging from entrees to hors d’oeuvres, salads, desserts, and side dishes, this book also presents Chef Kamal Al-Faqih’s signature dishes. From London broil layered with garlic yogurt and pita, to heart-healthy fire-roasted wheat with lamb, he developed these singularly sumptuous recipes over two decades as the preeminent Mediterranean caterer in the Washington, D.C., area. Feedback from clients, friends, and family allowed him to focus on each dish individually and refine the ingredients and flavors. And, more recently, he devoted two years to further perfecting these recipes—for this book.Accompanied by full-color photographs throughout, and with step-by-step instructions, Classic Lebanese Cuisine —linked to the Web site cookingwithkamal.com, where you can find complementary information—makes Lebanese cuisine accessible to everyone who seeks to reproduce their favorite flavors and dishes, from the merely curious to more experienced cooks. In Washington, no dinner party I gave was complete without Chef Kamal Al-Faqih's personal and professional contributions as a friend and caterer. He shared some tricks and helped me heal the deprivations of exile, as I treated my guests to nostalgic flights into the magical evenings at home I wished had never been interrupted. Kamal's perfected and time-tested techniques steeped in the authenticity and ethos of the dishes he grew up with make that unique culinary voyage possible anywhere. . . . Let me invite you to . . . Kamal's chest of Mediterranean treasures of the palate, lovingly and artfully presented in this gem of a book. ―from the foreword by Washington Post columnist Nora Boustany Savory, Heart-Healthy Lebanese Recipes from a Renowned Chef Among the 170 recipes in Classic Lebanese Cuisine APPETIZERSPomegranate-Beef Crescents • Hummus with Minced Lamb and Pine NutsPumpkin Kibbi Balls SALADS Dandelion Salad with Yogurt • Farmer's Salad with Tahini DressingParsley and Bulgur Wheat SaladMAIN DISHES Cardamom Chicken, Lamb, or Beef with Rice • Red Snapper with Caramelized Cumin Rice • Jute Mallow and Garlic-Cilantro Stew with Lamb (or Beef)Stuffed Squash and Grape LeavesSIDE DISHES Basmati Rice with Cumin, Lentils, and Onion • Eggplant MoussakaRoasted Onion-Cumin Potato Spears • Stewed Okra and Cilantro in Olive OilSOUPS Lentil Soup with Ruby Swiss Chard and Lemon • Miniature Meatball SoupDESSERTS Baklava • Glazed Anise Fingers • Sweet Semolina Yogurt Cakes Chef Kamal Al-Faqih , a Lebanese-American, began his career in 1986 as the owner and head chef of Med Catering, the first exclusively Mediterranean catering company in the Washington, D.C., area. During his twenty years there, his reputation became unmatched as his authentic dishes were offered at White House and embassy events, and for notables from Jordan's King Abdulla to Placido Domingo. In 2005, Chef Kamal relocated to California, where he tested and wrote the recipes that comprise Classic Lebanese Cuisine . Read more