Interesting Facts:
- Lebanon has astonishing beaches as well as high mountains and skiing. Lebanon’s geography makes it easy to go from the city to the slopes in a matter of just 1–2 hours.
- Evidence of the earliest known settlements in Lebanon was found in Byblos, which is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and date back to earlier than 5000 BC.

Why did I choose Lebanon? While I was searching for interesting recipes I realized that a lot of the foods that I like originate from there… Gyros, Shawarma, Tabouli, Hummus… I want to try a few of them but for now, because it is the time of year for entertaining, I wanted to make an appetizer, something to share either for a potluck or as a starter before dinner:

Recipe: Baba Ghannouj or Mtabbal Bathinjan (eggplant dip)
1 large round eggplant (aubergine)
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
4 tbs. tahini
4 tbs. lemon juice
salt, chili sauce
olive oil
chopped parsley
slices of red bell pepper to garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. 

Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. When it is well cooked through and the skin is blackened,Cool slightly.

Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant. 

eggplant in strainer

Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and the garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving. Serve with pita wedges.

Verdict: Another easy and straight forward recipe. It’s very important to chill, I found that it tasted better after letting it chill and serving it later.  Pita wedges are the best, but you can also dip plain potato chips or pretzels. I actually used it as a spread on my veggie sandwich. I found that it was very versatile and really not difficult to make at all. Enjoy it!

Now, on to Iraq. I think all of the world has heard about this country in the last few years and I was always curious to learn a little more about their culture. So here is just a small peek about what they’re all about.

The Republic of Iraq, also known as Mesopotamia, is located in Western Asia. It borders Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. It has a narrow section of coastline on the Persian Gulf. The rivers Tigris and Euphrates (I remember my ancient history classes!) run through the centre of Iraq from north to south. Baghdad is the capital city.

Interesting Facts:
- The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is identified as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace or writing and the wheel. WOW!
- The Iraqi cuisine is generally heavy with more spices than most arab cuisines

Recipe: BA’BA BEH TAMUR (filled pastries)
These pastries have different fillings, I decided to make the almond since it’s what I had available but if you’d like the recipe for the cheese or date fillings please email me and I will send it to you.

Dough:
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees)
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground fennel
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Combine yeast and water; set aside 10 minutes.
Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, fennel, yeast mixture and
melted butter in bowl and mix until everything comes together (better if done with an electric mixer but don’t overbeat).
Cover with damp cloth. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.


Almond Filling:
1 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon rose water
1 tablespoon orange blossom water (see the notes, I had to use a substitution)
- Combine all ingredients well.
Putting it together:
Preheat oven at 425F. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick; cut into 3-inch rounds (with a cookie cutter or a water glass). Place approx. 1 tsp of filling in center. Brush edge
with water; fold to make a half-moon shape. Seal edges with tines of fork. Bake in a preheated oven 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes: Although the recipe called for mixing the dough with an electric mixer I ended up doing it by hand. I only have a hand held mixer and it was hard to get the dough to the right consistency so I mixed it with a wooden spoon and then used my hands. It worked well. I assume that using one of those large electic mixer would’ve made it easier but no pain no gain, right?
Rose water was quite easy to find in the ethnic food section of my local supermarket but I couldn’t find orange blossom water anywhere! So I searched through the lovely and very informative Cook’s Thesaurus http://www.foodsubs.com and found that I could use orange extract. BE CAUTIOUS though, the extract adds a little bitterness to the filling so what I did is use 1 1/2 measures of rose water and only 1/2 measure of orange extract. Worked like a charm.
You can also get away with not using the fennel in the dough but I found that it added to the middle eastern taste, you can grind the fennel in a coffee grinder. Note to the wise, try to have a separate grinder for your spices or the coffee taste will transfer into everything you grind.

Verdict: These pastries were quite tasty and perfect to have with afternoon tea or a snack. They have a very subtle taste and not too sweet, there’s just a hint of rose taste but just enough to give it a distinct flavour. The recipe made about 40 of them and they were all gone in one sitting! I actually brought them to work for a potluck, my opinion is that if they’re all gone by the end of the work day then it’s because everyone liked them. This was a very easy recipe and, aside from letting the dough rise for an hour, not time consuming at all. Try it! You will not be disappointed!

finished pastries