Lamb Kofta

If you're looking for a quick and easy weeknight dinner, lamb koftas are a great choice. I serve these with a yogurt sauce, tomato cucumber salad, pita, babaganoush and roasted veggies for a complete meal. For an even easier option, stuff your pita with yogurt sauce, hummus, or your favorite spread, add the koftas and top with tomato cucumber salads or just sliced tomatoes.

Pin It Now!

Za'atar Grilled Chicken

This summer I have discovered the wonderful world of Middle Eastern spice mixes. If you love grilling but don't always have the time or energy to come up with homemade seasoning, these  mixes are the way to go. I recently purchased Baharat and Za'atar spice mixes at World Market and they are a BBQ game changer. You can mix the spice mixes with some olive oil and use that as a marinade. In this recipe, lemon and garlic are added for an extra layer of flavor. This takes about 5 minutes to put together and received rave reviews last time I made it.

Pin It Now!

Jujeh Kabob (Persian Chicken Kabob)

I was lucky enough to grow up with friends whose mother's were amazing cooks. I can;t even remember how young I was when I first had jujeh kabobs, but I have always loved them. I first made these myself about 2 years ago and was so pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out. I made these again recently at a friend's BBQ and forgot how much I love this variation of grilled chicken. Though traditionally these are served as a skewered chicken kabob, I have at time just marinated chicken thighs in the marinade and grilled them on their own. Either way, this recipe is delicious and easy to make.

Pin It Now!

Middle Eastern Herb Omelette (Ijee)

This omelette has been a family breakfast favorite for years. It's loaded with healthy herbs and is full of flavor. I love serving this with fresh bread, some sliced cucumber and tomatoes and a cheese plate. This may not be a very traditional brunch or breakfast item, but it is delicious. my family and I just made this again over the weekend and as always, everyone was stuffed and the entire omelette was devoured.

Pin It Now!

Roasted Eggplant, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

I recently discovered this salad through a friend. I told her I wanted to make a new and exciting salad and she immediately recommended this. Thank goodness for friends with good taste in food! This is currently my favorite food. I've made this salad multiple times over the past 2 months and everyone who has tried it loves it. The flavors are fresh and and exciting and the herb dressing and yogurt sauce combined make the perfect accompaniment to the vegetables.

You can play around with how spicy you make it based on how many serrano peppers you use. This salad is very filling and can be served as a light main course. I love pairing this with some freshly baked za'atar flatbread. It's my perfect summer dinner. If you are against using your oven during the summer, you can also fry or saute the eggplant. Sauteing work, but the end result is a little messier looking. The taste will still be wonderful. This salad make great leftovers too, so even if it's just 2 of you eating this, go ahead and make the full recipe. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Pin It Now!

Za'atar Flatbread

I recently bought a jar of za'atar and was immediately curious about a recipe for za'atar flatbread on the label. Za'atar is a delicious Middle Eastern flavoring that consists mainly of sumac with some thyme, sesame seeds and salt. You can make this spice blend on your own if you can't find it already prepared. I love the flavors of this spice and was very excited to try baking with it. This flatbread recipe is extremely easy, but the taste is incredible and it looks like you put a lot of work into the baking process.

Pin It Now!

Kzizot (Israeli Chicken Patties)

When I was a kid, kzizot were our ultimate picnic food. I remember stuffing them into pitas and smothering them with hummus and israeli salad. Not much has changed since I still love kzizot and would gladly eat them like that any day. You can serve this with all kinds of middle eastern dips, or you if don't have access to those, they are great on their own as well. I made a greek yogurt dip with garlic and chives the last time I served these.

What makes these patties so great is the grated potato. It keeps the meat really moist, even on the second day if you have leftovers. The recipe is fairly simple and is really hard to mess up. As with all red bell peppers, you could use yellow or orange bell pepper instead.

Pin It Now!

Cheese Bourekas

Every now and then, I go on a meat strike. I love meat, but if I have it too many days in a row, I need a break and turn into a vegetarian for a few days (sometime longer). This past weeks was meat intensive. First there was a veal roast, then the Japanese stir fry, followed by a chicken dish. I needed a break from the carnivorous life and bourekas were the prefect meal. It's still cloudy and cool here, so having something warm and comforting was just what I wanted.

Since bourekas themselves aren't really healthy, and are more of a side dish/starter than a main meal, I like having lots of salads to go with them. Usually I make a leafy green salad and an Israeli salad, along with some hard boiled eggs, and call it a meal. There are tons of different variations for making bourekas, but these are simple, easy, and really good. These also freeze really well, so if you find yourself with too many bourekas, feel free to put them in the freeze with the egg wash already on them. All you have to do the next time is throw them in the oven.

Pin It Now!

Israeli Kabobs

When I was a kid, these kabobs were a typical dinner on a hot summer night. They're made very quickly and have enough flavor to please adults, but aren't too strong to put off the kids. My mom got this recipe years ago from a family friend when she was first learning all about Israeli and Middle Eastern food. The only change that has occurred over time is adding more spice to it. And don't worry, if spicy is not your things, just remove the jalapeno and cut back the red pepper flakes.

Decades later, this recipe is still loved and one of my go to "what should I do with this ground beef?" recipes. Sometimes I buy ground meat and have no clue what I want to make with it. The days when my brain doesn't feel like working, I make these. You can use different types of ground meats with this kabob recipe if your don't have ground beef. I've tried it with ground turkey and chicken and both have been a success. If you don't have a food processor, just finely chop all the herbs, onion, garlic, etc... These can be changed to your flavor preferences very easily, so don't hesitate to skip or add ingredients (just make sure you add the egg and breadcrumbs, or they tend to fall apart). These are great on their own, but can sometimes dry out a bit if you have them as leftovers more than once. When that happens, I love dipping the kabobs in ketchup since they are sort of like an oddly shaped, well seasoned hamburger.

Pin It Now!

Israeli Salad

Today we had a slightly hot 83 degree day in LA and it finally felt like summer. I made a batch of ice cream (recipe to come soon) and had one of my all time favorite hot weather meals: Israeli salad.* Well, the salad itself was not the entire meal, but it was the highlight. Along with the salad I had some bread, kalamata olives, Israeli pickles, and cheese. The best part of the meal: dunking chunks of bread into the remaining salad dressing after everyone has finished eating. Maybe that's slightly rude, but try it once and you'll temporarily forget your table manners.

This is one of the most refreshing salads and I have often lived off of it during really hot summer days. It's quick and easy to make and typically I have all of the ingredients at home. Once you start making this salad a few times you'll realize that you don't really need a recipe and can just throw things in as you go along. You can tweak it in many way and it's still great. Some people prefer red onions over scallions, you can throw in an avocado or some bell pepper if you feel like it, omit the parsley if you don't like the taste, etc... You get the point, this is so simple and straightforward that anyone can successfully make this and change it to their liking. Israeli salad also keeps well, so if you make it in the morning and take it to work for lunch, your salad won't end up mushy or soggy (like many others do).

The one thing you want to make sure of is that you have ripe tomatoes. With such a simple dressing, the ingredients need to be flavorful. I used a Meyer lemon (from the yard) in this and to be totally honest, I didn't feel the difference. But when I've made it with slightly unripe produce it tastes much less exciting.

*Yes, I realize that different cultures and countries have their own name for it, but since I have no clue as to where this salad originated, and I grew up calling it Israeli salad, I'm sticking with that.

Pin It Now!