Lebanon
Aish el Saraya
عيش السرايا
Toasted bread soaked in sugar syrup, layered under ashta or cream and finished with pistachios — a syrup-soaked Egyptian dessert.
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Lebanon
Explore 95 foods connected to Lebanon, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
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Lebanon Essentials
13 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Lebanon.
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Lebanon
Akkawi Cheese
عكاوي
A white brined cheese, smooth and squeaky, soaked to remove salt before eating and used in flatbreads and sweet pastries.
Lebanon
Amar el Din
قمر الدين
A thick apricot drink made from dried apricot paste dissolved in water, served cold during Ramadan across Lebanon and the Levant.
Lebanon
Arak
عرق
A clear grape spirit twice or three times distilled with aniseed, diluted with water and ice so it turns milky white.
Lebanon
Ashta
قشطة
Thick clotted cream scented with orange blossom or rose water, used to fill nearly every Lebanese pastry and pudding.
Turkey
Ayran
Ajran
Ayran is a cold drink of yogurt, water and salt, whisked until lightly foamy. In Bulgaria it is a summer fountain and meal drink, never a sweet yogurt.
Lebanon
Baalbek Meat Pies
صفيحة بعلبكية
Small open-faced pies with a topping of minced lamb, tomato, onion and pomegranate molasses, baked in a hot oven.
Lebanon
Baklava
بقلاوة
Layers of paper-thin phyllo brushed with butter and filled with chopped walnuts or pistachios, baked crisp then drenched in lemon- or rose-scented sugar syrup. One square, cut diamond-small, is the shared Ottoman dessert of the whole eastern Mediterranean.
Lebanon
Balilah
بليلة
Whole chickpeas warmed in their cooking liquid and dressed with garlic, lemon, cumin and olive oil, eaten with a spoon.
Lebanon
Bekaa Valley Wine
نبيذ لبناني
Wine from the high plateau between two mountain ranges, mostly Rhône and Bordeaux varieties plus indigenous Obeideh and Merwah whites.
Lebanon
Blossom Water Drink
ماء زهر
Hot water with a spoonful of orange blossom water, drunk after a heavy meal or given to settle a stomach.
Lebanon
Bulgur
برغل
Wheat parboiled, dried and cracked to different grades, from the fine grain in tabbouleh to coarse pilaf bulgur.
Lebanon
Butter Shortbread
غريبة
A very pale shortbread of clarified butter, sugar and flour, shaped into rings or S-curves with an almond pressed into the middle.
Lebanon
Cheese Knefeh in Sesame Bread
كنافة بالجبنة
Melted sweet cheese under a layer of semolina or shredded pastry, soaked in blossom syrup and served inside a sesame bread roll for breakfast.
Lebanon
Cheese Rolls
رقاقات
Thin pastry rolled into cigars around salty white cheese and parsley, then deep-fried until blistered.
Lebanon
Chicory with Fried Onion
هندبة بزيت
Wild chicory boiled, squeezed dry and dressed with lemon and olive oil, buried under onions fried almost black.
United Arab Emirates
Dolmades
Ντολμάδες
Greek stuffed grape leaves with rice, herbs, and olive oil, rolled into small parcels. A meze and Clean Monday staple, tangy and herby, served cold with lemon, a national dish.
Egypt
Falafel
פלאפל
Soaked raw chickpeas ground with herbs, cumin and coriander and deep-fried in balls, packed into pita with salad, tahini, pickles and hot sauce.
Lebanon
Fattoush
فتوش
Salad with crispy bread pieces, vegetables, and sumac dressing, fresh vegetables with crispy bread and tangy sumac dressing, well-balanced, a popular and refreshing Arabic salad in UAE, daily and beloved.
Sudan
Ful Medames
فول مدمس
Dried fava beans simmered soft and crushed at the table with lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil, eaten with raw onion and bread.
Lebanon
Garlic Paste
ثوم
Raw garlic emulsified with oil, lemon and salt into a stiff white paste, served with grilled chicken and in sandwiches.
Lebanon
Green Beans in Olive Oil
لوبية بزيت
Flat green beans stewed slowly with onion, garlic, tomato and a great deal of olive oil, served at room temperature.
Lebanon
Green Wheat
فريكة
Wheat harvested green, set alight so the chaff burns off, then dried and cracked, giving a smoky, chewy grain.
Lebanon
Grilled Chicken with Garlic
فروج مشوي
A whole chicken split flat, marinated and grilled over charcoal, served with a bowl of garlic paste, chips and pickles.
Lebanon
Grilled Meat-Stuffed Bread
عرايس
Flatbread split and packed with spiced minced lamb, then pressed on the grill until the bread crisps and the fat soaks into it.
Lebanon
Grilled Minced Lamb Skewers
كفتة
Minced lamb and beef worked with parsley, onion and spices, moulded onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal.
Lebanon
Grilled Sea Fish
سمك مشوي
Whole sea bream, sea bass or red mullet grilled over coals and served with lemon, tahini sauce and a pile of raw onion.
Homs, Lebanon
Halawet el Jibn
حلاوة الجبن
Soft cheese dough rolled around ashta, cut into small pieces and drenched in orange-blossom syrup with pistachios; an Egyptian form of the Levantine sweet.
Cyprus
Halloumi
Χαλλούμι
A Cypriot-origin cheese popular in Greece, made from sheep and goat milk, with a high melting point. Grilled or fried until golden, a meze and salad staple, salty and chewy.
Lebanon
Hareeseh
هريسة
A Lebanese semolina cake soaked in sugar syrup, often studded with almonds or coconut, dense and sweet with a crisp golden top.
Lebanon
Hashweh
حشوة
A Lebanese rice dish of spiced minced lamb or beef with toasted pine nuts and almonds, served at celebrations and family gatherings.
Lebanon
Herbal Flower Infusion
زهورات
A mix of dried chamomile, rose, lemon verbena, hibiscus and other flowers infused as a hot drink after a meal.
United Arab Emirates
Hummus
حمص
Chickpeas boiled soft and beaten with tahini, lemon and garlic into a smooth paste, swirled with olive oil — the shared Levantine staple claimed by every coast of the eastern Mediterranean, eaten with pita at any hour.
Beirut, Lebanon
Kaak
كعك
A handbag-shaped sesame bread ring sold from glass carts, split and filled with thyme spice, cheese or chocolate spread.
Aleppo, Lebanon
Kibbeh
كبة
Meat and bulgur croquettes, fried or baked, crispy exterior with well-seasoned meat and proper bulgur texture, a popular Arabic dish in UAE, traditional and beloved, festive and daily, versatile and hearty.
Lebanon
Kishk
كشك
Cracked wheat fermented with yoghurt for days, dried in the sun and ground to a pale powder, then cooked into a thick sour soup.