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𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎

Many of Lebanon’s dishes have deeply ancient roots, going back through thousands of years of Phoenician, Persian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Roman, Reek, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman influence and rule. More recently, French influence has made an appearance during French colonial rule. Lamb, chicken, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice are core ingredients with additional heavy usage of chickpeas and parsley. Lebanese cuisine is additionally on the list of most influential cuisines, alongside Chinese and Turkish, which the Lebanese diaspora spreading Lebanese influence around the world and embedding itself into other cuisines permanently.

Personal note: When my family was displaced from Palestine, they moved to Lebanon. While we are not Lebanese, I grew up with a lot of these foods. My personal ultimate favorite is Kibbeh Nayah, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚑

Kibbeh

𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜

Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry by Barbara Abdeni Massaad

A huge source of nostalgia for me as my great-grandma practiced a lot of these techniques since there’s significant cultural sharing between Lebanon and Palestine. This is a great way to practice some of the oldest forms of preservation in the world, including cheesemaking, pickling, making jam and syrups, and more.

The Lebanese Cookbook by Salma Jage

This is essentially the Lebanese culinary bible. It is massive with a huge arsenal of recipes. Salma Hage does a fantastic job of noting variations on many dishes. Additionally, there are some guest recipes, including some from Kamal Mouzawak, the founder of Souk el Tayeb who has done phenomenal humanitarian work in Lebanon.