Levantine cuisine

Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, in the sense of the rough area of former Ottoman Syria. The cuisine has similarities with Egyptian cuisine, North African cuisine and Ottoman cuisine. It is particularly known for its meze spreads of hot and cold dishes, most notably among them ful medames, hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, accompanied by bread.
History
The history of Levantine cuisine can be traced back to the early civilizations that flourished in the region, such as the Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, and Hittites. These ancient cultures developed complex agricultural systems, producing grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that would become staples of the Levantine diet. Bread, olive oil, and wine were integral to the cuisine from the very beginning, and remain so today.
Levantine dishes
Classic
Mezes or small dishes
Baba ghanoush (بابا غنوج)—a dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings
Chickpea salad or salatat hummus (سلطة حمص)—an Arab salad with cooked chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, salt, olive oil, and cumin
Falafel (فلافل)—spiced mashed chickpeas formed into balls or fritters and deep fried, usually eaten with or in pita bread with hummus
Fattoush (فتوش)—a salad of chopped cucumber, radish, tomato and other vegetables, with fried or toasted pita bread
Ful medames (فول مدمس)—ground fava beans and olive oil also prepared in Syria as a salad with fava beans, chopped tomatoes, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt
Hummus (حمّص)—a thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and olive oil, lemon, and garlic; also common in Egypt
Kibbeh (كبة)—a dumpling-like dish of ground lamb with bulgur wheat or rice and seasonings, eaten cooked or raw
Kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نيئة)—a mezze of minced raw meat mixed with fine bulgur and various seasonings
Labneh (لبنة)—yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey; most popular as a breakfast food
Lentil soup (شوربة عدس)—may be vegetarian or include meat, using brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk
Makanek—Arabic sausage made from ground meat spiced with pine nuts, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and served with pomegranate molasses.
Makdous (مكدوس)—stuffed oil-cured baby aubergines
Manakish (مناقيش)—a pizza-like flatbread garnished with minced meat, thyme or za'atar, commonly eaten for breakfast or dinner
Mfarakeh (مفركة)—an Arab dish made of potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt and pepper, with chopped coriander leaf as garnish
Muhammara (محمرة)—a hot pepper dip made from fresh or dried peppers, breadcrumbs, olive oil, spices and ground walnuts
Raheb (سلطة راهب)—a salad with aubergines and tomatoes, popular in the Middle East.
Sambusac (سمبوسك)—a triangular savory pastry fried in ghee or oil with spiced vegetables or meat
Sfiha (صفيحة)—open-faced meat pies made with ground mutton, lamb or beef
Shanklish (شنكليش)—cow's or sheep's milk cheese formed into balls, rolled in Aleppo pepper and za'atar, then aged and dried
Shawarma (شاورما)—roasted meat, cooked on a revolving spit and shaved for serving in sandwiches
Tabbouleh (تبولة)—a salad of bulgur mixed with finely chopped parsley, minced onions and tomatoes
Main dishes
Bamia (بامية)—a stew prepared with chunks of lamb meat with okra in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice
Dolma (محشي)—vegetables, typically aubergines, courgettes, onions, peppers or tomatoes, stuffed with minced meat and rice
Fasoulia (فاصوليا)—a stew prepared with white beans and meat served over rice
Fatteh (فتّة)—chicken over rice, topped with yogurt and pita bread
Freekeh (فريكة)—a cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb-tail fat
Harees–Cracked wheat and meat porridge or gruel with seasoning
Kabsa (كبسة)—a rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked in a variety of spices and topped with nuts over rice and prepared in Syria and Gaza
Kebab (كباب)—a dish of ground beef or lamb, grilled or roasted on a skewer
Kebab karaz (كباب كرز)—a type of kebab made of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and sour cherries over pita bread
Kousa mahshi (كوسا محشي)—courgettes baked and stuffed with minced meat and rice in a tomato-based sauce
Malfouf (ملفوف)–rolled cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, meat and spices
Mansaf (منسف)—lamb or chicken cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served over rice
Maqluba (مقلوبة)—a rice-based casserole with meat, rice, and fried vegetables in a pot, which is flipped upside down when served, hence the name, which literally translates as "upside-down"
Mujaddara (مجدرة)—cooked lentils with groats, generally rice, garnished with sautéed onions
Mulukhiyah (ملوخية)—a stew cooked with mallow leaves, mucillagenous like okra, eaten with chicken in a thick broth
Musakhan (مسخّن)—a classic Palestinian dish, a whole roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon bread
Qarymutah (القريموطة), a simple way to prepare bulgur in rural areas of Homs, Hama and Salamiyah. Bulgur is cooked with vegetables and wrapped in grape leaves
Qidreh (قدرة)—a lamb stew with chickpeas, garlic and spices, commonly served over rice
Quzi (قوزي)—a hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices over rice or wrapped in taboon bread
Shish kebab (شيش كباب)—grilled or roasted chunks of meat on a skewer, commonly served over flatbread or rice
Sumaghiyyeh (سماقية)—ground sumac is soaked in water then mixed with tahina (sesame-seed paste), water and flour, added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans
Zibdieh (زبدية)—a clay-pot dish of shrimp baked in a stew of olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, and peeled tomatoes
Breads
Challah (חלה)—a Jewish egg-bread, primarily eaten on Shabbat and holidays
Ka'ak (كعك)—a type of biscuit/cookie shaped into a ring, occasionally sprinkled with sesame seeds
Markook (مرقوق)—a thin, unleavened flatbread baked on an iron griddle known as saj
Pita (خبز عربي)—a soft, slightly leavened flatbread baked from wheat flour
Condiments
Tahini (طحينة)—condiment made of ground and hulled sesame seeds, primary ingredient baba ghanoush and hummus
Toum (توم)—a paste containing garlic, olive oil and salt, typically used as a dip
Za'atar (زَعْتَر)—a condiment of dried herbs mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices
Sweets
Awameh (عوامة)—a fried-dough Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds
Basbousa (بسبوسة)—a Middle-Eastern small, sweet cake of cooked semolina soaked in rose water syrup, topped with almonds or walnuts
Kanafeh (كنافة)—a dessert made with shredded filo and melted cheese soaked in a sugary syrup
Ma'amoul (معمول)—semolina shortbread cookies filled with dates or walnuts, commonly sprinkled with sugar
Meghli (مغلي)–a floured rice pudding spiced with anise, caraway and cinnamon and garnished with coconut flakes and nuts
Qatayef (قطايف)—a dessert commonly served during the month of Ramadan, a sweet dumpling filled with cream or nuts
Warbat (وربات)—a sweet pastry with thin layers of phyllo pastry filled with custard, popularly eaten during Ramadan
Zalabia (زلابية)—a fried dough pastry shaped as balls or discs, often dipped in a sweet syrup
Drinks
Limonana (ليمون نعناع)—lemonade made from freshly-squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves
Qamar al-Din (قمر الدين)—a thick, cold apricot drink typically served during the month of Ramadan
Contemporary
Jerusalem mixed grill (מעורב ירושלמי)—chicken hearts, spleens and livers mixed with bits of lamb cooked on a flat grill, seasoned with onion, garlic, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, olive oil and coriander
Malfouf salad (سلطة ملفوف)—a cabbage salad with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and mint
Ptitim (פתיתים)—literally "flakes", a type of toasted pasta shaped like rice grains, developed in Israel in the 1950s when rice was scarce
Geographical varieties of Levantine cuisine
Armenian cuisine
Assyrian cuisine
Cypriot cuisine
Egyptian cuisine
Greek cuisine
Israeli cuisine
Jordanian cuisine
Kurdish cuisine
Lebanese cuisine
Mesopotamian cuisine
Ottoman cuisine
Palestinian cuisine
Syrian cuisine
Turkish cuisine
See also
Arab cuisine
Jewish cuisine
Greek cuisine
Iranian cuisine
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Anny Gaul, Graham Auman Pitts, Vicki Valosik, eds., Making Levantine cuisine: modern foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean, University of Texas Press, 2022
Sami Zubaida, "National, Communal and Global Dimensions in Middle Eastern Food Cultures" in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000 p. 35.
Jean Bottéro, The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press, 2004,
External links
Arab cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine
Middle Eastern cuisine