Middle Eastern Christmas Dishes

[James G]

I have been asked by a book club to organise a Middle Eastern Christmas dinner for their annual holiday party. I am very comfortable with Middle Eastern cooking, but am not very familiar with what would be considered a "Christmas" dinner there. I have turned to my Lebanese friends, who are singularly unhelpful ("we used to eat roast leg of lamb for Christmas", or "we always went to Paris for Christmas"). I suppose I could just do a "festive" Middle Eastern menu, but thought before I make any decisions about what to serve, I'd turn to the eGullet community for some inspiration. What would you serve them? 

[Hassouni]

My Arab side is not Christian, so I can't really speak from personal experience, but I'd recommend googling "Lebanese Christmas", "Palestinian Christmas", "Syrian Christmas", "Assyrian/Chaldean Christmas" and also "Coptic Christmas" and see what comes up

[CatPoet]

My Lebanese  Christian friends  also have lamb leg for Christmas, a whole roasted  with Rosemary /  oregano  , garlic and  served with pomegranate salad among other things and sun dried olives.

[Nicolai]

A Typical Xmas in Lebanon and Syria is very much a French inspired menu with a twist for the Turkey stuffing.

 

Entree:

Smoked Salmon - Foie Gras - Feuilletés Ham and Mushrooms

 

Plat principal:

- Stuffed Turkey with rice - mince meat - pine nuts - Almonds - Pistachios - Chestnuts being the hero.

To keep the stuffing moist, you add raisins and/or apricots.

 

Side dishes are green beans - Carrots - Courgettes.

 

Suite:

Endives salad and walnuts - Cheese Board

 

Dessert:

Bûche de Noël et Petits Fours - Maamoul

 

 

Enjoy....

 

[andiesenji]

I needed some things from the local Middle Eastern market so shopped there this morning.  One of the owners is Lebanese and his daughter told me that they had a very large family and served lamb but also a favorite main was a huge platter of quail, marinated in a pomegranate-based surup seasoned with Za'atar, lemon zest and sumac with raw sugar then grilled over a wood fire till the skins are crispy and sticky. 

Here they use mesquite because the resulting flavor is similar to that of the bois de broussailles (whatever the heck that is) they used in their home town in Lebanon.  I think she mentioned some sumac wood was burned but I am not sure I am recalling it correctly.

 

She said they also roasted whole aubergines (big eggplants) over the same fires to make various dishes, including baba ganoushe which was always offered on all holidays. 

[Jaymes]

I used to have a Jewish acquaintance that refused to eat cookies anytime during the November-December time frame because she said "cookies mean Christmas."  I was quite surprised with that opinion because, in so far as I know anyway, there is no religious connection to cookies.  They don't "signify" anything - like eggs being symbolic of rebirth at Easter, or bitter herbs at Seder. 

 

But, assuming that cookies are synonymous with Christmas elsewhere, there are some wonderful Middle-Eastern cookie varieties; probably the best-known of which are butter cookies - ghorayebah. 

 

You might consider googling "middle-eastern cookies" for various ideas and recipes.

 

And you could decorate these cookies with Christmas themes.