Lahmacun
Have you tried the so-called “Turkish pizza” or “Armenian pizza”? Calling the Lahmacun this way will definitely raise some eyebrows but, regardless, if you’re a pizza fan, then you should try this spicy and beefy traditional dish.
Arabic
Shakshouka
You may have heard about the celebrated dish originating in the Maghreb. If not, you should know that it is definitely worth a try. Although apparently our version of the dish may seem vegetarian to some of you, it is not. In order to make it vegetarian, substitute the normal parmesan with a vegetarian one. You may have heard about that rennet thing they’re using to produce this type of cheese.
Sunflower Seed Halva
Have you ever tried halva? Actually, there are various types of halva and they are all delicious! You can easily make a simple sunflower seed halva yourself! It doesn’t require much in the way of skill. It’s all about dry-roasting sunflower seeds, mixing them with powdered sugar and butter, flavoring them with vanilla extract, and then forgetting them in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. The actual time spent in the kitchen: about 15 minutes.
Couscous-Stuffed Eggplant
Use eggplant rounds to make small ramekins for this treat inspired by the Mediterranean-Arabic cuisine. The warm salad stuffing in the eggplant “baskets” enchants with a creamy couscous texture marked by oily salty olives. Be it a side dish or a vegetarian meal, you will enjoy this slightly tangy dish.
Lamb Wrap With Almond Basmati Rice
This lamb wrap is inspired from the Arabic cuisine, but it has clear references to the Greek and Mexican ones. You need to flavor the lamb cooking it with coriander, ginger, and onion. Then quickly make a no-brainer refreshing yogurt sauce. Use these to top and season the basmati rice mixed with fried almonds and pine nuts and served on tortilla wraps.
Turkish Lamb Soup
Turkish cuisine we think is one of the best in the world, spoiling us with some of the best dishes we’ve recently tried (like adana kebap, lahmacun, or baklava). Here we’ve tried something a little more traditional, that you won’t find in that many Turkish restaurants. It’s a delicious lamb soup, that lamb meat fans will surely enjoy.
Lentil and Chickpea Soup
Inspired by the Arabic cuisine, this warming, and thick soup is very appropriate for cold weather. That’s why we spice it using caraway, cloves, and paprika. Preparing it is an easy task: we needed only 25 minutes. You can increase the creaminess factor by serving it with yogurt to taste.
Pistachio and Sesame Vanilla Cookies (Barazek)
Coming right from Syria and Jordan and probably having older roots, the Barazek cookies are popular with social gatherings. Flavor the dough with vanilla and add some red wine vinegar to really give a boost to it. It helps in gluten development. Coat the cookies with delicious and crunchy pistachios and sesame seeds. So, if you feel like drinking coffee, why not give a try to these guys?
Hot Shakshouka
A vegetarian egg-based breakfast, or even a glorious main course, this one is coming right from the North-African cuisine, which can be regarded as Mediterranean, too, you know. What you do here, is cooking eggs right in the middle of the simmering tomato mixture. It’s called Shakshouka and it’s savory, comforting, and meant to be shared.
Tabbouleh, Bok Choy and Fig Salad
Let’s give this Tabbouleh salad an interesting Chinese touch with lemony and buttery sauteed bok choy. Spike this multi-cultural salad with jalapeno, chili, and lemon. Do not forget to add some figs, for a sweet touch.
Rice and Vegetable Stuffed Vine Leaves
For this, you need to prepare a filling mixture and then make the vine leaf rolls. Let’s keep this one vegetarian, although various types of meat can be included into the mix. Use mainly onion and spring onion, together with rice. Flavor with dill, parsley, garlic, and lemon. Best served with Greek yogurt.
Bulgur-Stuffed Zucchini
This bulgur-stuffed zucchini is light and vegetarian which makes it perfect for a late dinner in the summer. Bulgur gives a heartier texture to the veggie stuffing. And nothing’s stopping you to add some cheesiness to it by including grated parmesan into the mixture.
