Mezze

[Suvir Saran]

What Mezze (assorted appetizers) should one prepare for an evening of Middle Eastern foods?

What cook book has the best recipes for Mezze?

Is there a great restaurant that one must go to for Mezze?

[Fat Guy]

What cook book has the best recipes for Mezze?

Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food (a rewrite of her classic volume) has pretty much everything you need. Her recipes are well-researched and considered definitive by most Middle Eastern cuisine aficionados I know.

You have so many options, but I think you'd be hard pressed to get away without humus (with tehina) and baba ganouj. Those are the core Middle Eastern appetizers as far as I'm concerned.

[Toby]

Everything I've ever cooked from Joanne Weir's From Tapas to Meze has been delicious and the recipes are very straightforward.

Also, I think you mentioned you'd just gotten a copy of Mediteranean Street Food by Anissa Helou -- lots of those recipes could be served indoors. I really love this book; can't wait to have time to start cooking from it.

And A Mediterranean Feast by Clifford A. Wright has lots of recipes and is fascinating reading.

[Suvir Saran]

Hummus with Tehina and Baba Ganouj are also my favorites.

But what else would you serve for an evening of mostly Mezze?

How about suggesting a menu to me.. and I can then look at all those books you suggest for recipes.

[Suvir Saran]

Is there a restaurant in NYC that you suggest for enjoying great Mezze?

[Fat Guy]

Suvir, I wouldn't recommend any one restaurant for comprehensive Mezze, but there are a few examples of places that make one or two things well enough to use as a model. I'll give some thought to a list. Also, I tend to think of the region as Mediterranean / Middle-Eastern / North-African for Mezze purposes, and I happen to think -- in New York at least (note to those reading along, Suvir is in New York) -- the Greek places do the best job overall of executing the various appetizers.

As for a menu, well, if you're doing an all Mezze evening that changes things a little bit. It means you might want to do some meat-oriented ones that I wouldn't think to do for a meal where the Mezze are functioning as appetizers. Forgive my spellings and scatterbrained descriptions here, I'm jumping all over the region for recommendations:

--Humus with tehina, for sure

--If you will be near a stove and don't mind working while the guests eat, some falafel would be nice passed around on trays with various dipping sauces

--Baba ganouj

--And I'd do a spicy eggplant dish, based on sliced eggplant -- there are a number of options here

--Some variation of little meatballs

--Those Lebanese-style dumplings

--Tatamosalata (this is Greek but who cares?)

--Skordalia (ditto)

--Tabouleh

--A big bowl of assorted olives

--Lots of warm flatbreads of various kinds

Maybe even some mini-kebabs

[researchgal]

FG's recommendations sound great, I'd add stuffed grapeleaves--can make them vegetarian if you'd like and they are delicious at room temp.

[Fat Guy]

The stuffed grape leaves are also excellent to have on hand if the evening degenerates into a food fight. They are superior projectile weapons.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks FG... wow.. what a great list.. I am still waiting on the restaurants you will suggest for each of those dishes..

And yes I love grape leaves. Our Lebanese friend Mary Ann Joulwan shared with me her families recipe for making these. Both the meatless ones and the ones with lamb.

The meatless ones are served at room temperature or even chilled and the ones with lamb are served warm.

FG, did you mean Kibbeh when you refered to the Lebanese dumplings? Or were you thinking something else?

Researchgal, how do you make your grape leaves? Or maybe you can share that in the grape leaf thread in the forum. It is always fun to see different recipes. Would you mind sharing?

[researchgal]

Suvir, I'd be happy to post my grapeleaves recipe--I'll do it over the weekend as I need my book at home for it. They're the Greek style ones--served warm w/avgolemono sauce...

[Fat Guy]

FG, did you mean Kibbeh when you refered to the Lebanese dumplings?  Or were you thinking something else?

I'm talking about Samboussek, and Al Bustan is the place to go for those. Al Bustan has a pretty nice overall selection of Middle Eastern appetizers, with the proviso that some of the flavors are too muted and there's a tendency to overuse lemon. It's also overpriced. They also make an Afghan version of Samboussek over at those Afghan kebab places on Ninth Avenue in the 50s, but I can't remember which one. Ariana Afghan Kabab I think, if it's still around.

[Suvir Saran]

I love samboussek and Al Bustan is a great place. And indeed they do use a lot of lemon. But it works for me since I ask for harissa and it cuts some of the salt and heat in that.

[Toby]

I used to make musbacha, a type of hummus made with kala channa (smaller, thick-skinned chickpeas). Only some of the chickpeas are processed with the tahini, garlic, salt and lemon juice. A lot of chopped parsley is folded in, and the mixture is left for awhile to develop flavor and is then added to the rest of the cooked whole chickpeas along with chopped up jalapeno, more chopped garlic and lemon juice and olive oil. I like the textural variation in this version and the kala channa are delicious. (You can also make this with regular chickpeas.)

[Suvir Saran]

Kala chana are black chick peas. They are black in color and smaller in size.

[Brad S]

If you get the chance to read "The Glorious foods of Greece" by Diane Kochilas you won't be disspointed.

[Suvir Saran]

I have it in my kitchen.. never even glanced through it after I first bought it.

Sad!

I will bring it out and read it. It looks beautiful. I had heard great things about it and that was the reason I bought it.

Not that it takes much for me to buy a cook book. I seem to have any and all that I ever see. Obsession here...

Will let you know if I make something from her book.

[oliva]

To add to everyone's already comprehensive suggestions:

Kibbeh Nayyeh (my favourite, it is raw meat, closest analogy- steak tartare)

Oven crisped pita bread spinkled with za'atar, serve with Labneh (the thick yoghurt; kefir cheese) and bitter, jade coloured Lebanese olives.

Lahmajeen (Lebanese style pizza topped with mince lamb or spinach and cheese)

Fettoosh- a salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, small pieces of pita bread which has been broiled to a crisp with za'atar on it, and then dress the salad with lemon, olive oil and sumac.

Fool -the quintessence of egyptian street food. I inhale it.

Lebanese make some nice reds now in their Bekaa Valley, I am not saying they are first growth Bordeauxs, but it would be nice to keep the Middle Eastern theme going, and don't forget Almaza, the Lebanese beer, it is quite good actually!!

[Fat Guy]

Yes, for a Middle Eastern themed evening I would definitely recommend some nice wines from the region.

Chateau Musar from Lebanon is a real spoiler in blind tastings -- it's even on the list at Lespinasse.

http://www.chateaumusar.com.lb/

Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon from the Golan Heights Winery is a dead ringer for a good mid-priced California Cab.

http://www.golanwines.co.il/yekev/about_en.asp?num=1

[anil]

For mezes and the kinds of it - I have had good experience at Pasha ( Off Columbus & 70 ?), and Ouzeria (sp?) ( 50th & 9th )

[polly]

Ahh, mezze is something close to my heart. There may be repetition in my suggestions b/c the others have come up with great ideas but here's what I would like to eat for mezze:

Hummus

Baba Ghannooj

Pickled turnips

Dolmades- filling of rice, dill, pine nuts, garlic and onion

Pickled green olives

Z'ataar bread-crisp rounds of homemade pita with z'ataar baked on

Labne balls in olive oil w/ mint and chilli

tabbouleh or fattoush

chicken wings with garlic

kibbe-baked or deep fried

kebabs

sambousik and speha

deep fried cauli flower

Fried eggplant slices topped with yoghurt

fried eggplant soaked in cumin infused vinegar with walnuts and tahini dressing

I have recipes for all these things if anyone wants them.

[Suvir Saran]

Ahh, mezze is something close to my heart. There may be repetition in my suggestions b/c the others have come up with great ideas but here's what I would like to eat for mezze:

Hummus

Baba Ghannooj

Pickled turnips

Dolmades- filling of rice, dill, pine nuts, garlic and onion

Pickled green olives

Z'ataar bread-crisp rounds of homemade pita with z'ataar baked on

Labne balls in olive oil w/ mint and chilli

tabbouleh or fattoush

chicken wings with garlic

kibbe-baked or deep fried

kebabs

sambousik and speha

deep fried cauli flower

Fried eggplant slices topped with yoghurt

fried eggplant soaked in cumin infused vinegar with walnuts and tahini dressing

I have recipes for all these things if anyone wants them.

recipes for fattoush and baked Kibbe please!

[oliva]

Fettoosh- a salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, small pieces of pita bread which has been broiled to a crisp with za'atar on it, and then dress the salad with lemon, olive oil and sumac.

Suvir, This is basically it to make fettoosh.

[Suvir Saran]

Fettoosh- a salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, small pieces of pita bread which has been broiled to a crisp with za'atar on it, and then dress the salad with lemon, olive oil and sumac.

Suvir, This is basically it to make fettoosh.

Oliva, what part of the country do you live in? Is that a fair question to ask? Where do you find good fettoush?

When I worked at the Met, my assistant was Lebanese and she would bring it for lunch. In fact, she would toss it at work. Simple and amazing.

I asked only for I was not sure if you had a more complex version too.

I love this salad.

Where do you find your favorite restaurant version of it?

[oliva]

Suvir if you want good Fetoosh you should go to some of the Lebanese restaurants in Washington DC- Fetoush being one of them! (sp. may be diferent), Lebanese Taverna and Neyla. The trick is to add the crisped pita bread at the end as it gets really soggy otherwise.

[Suvir Saran]

Suvir if you want good Fetoosh you should go to some of the Lebanese restaurants in Washington DC- Fetoush being one of them! (sp. may be diferent), Lebanese Taverna and Neyla. The trick is to add the crisped pita bread at the end as it gets really soggy otherwise.

The crispy Pita laced in the lemon and olive oil mix is amazing.

There was a restaurant called Fettoush in Brooklyn Heights in NYC that also made a great Fettoush. They are now closed. I do make it at home. I love this salad.