Syrian and Lebanese food is basically the same…but since my husband is Syrian…that is what I know and what I have learned. We eat it every week…normally multiple times. I have learned over the years of our marriage how to master certain things…others I leave to the professionals (because basically they are just too time consuming…I don’t have 4 hours to prepare dinner very night!). Enjoy!
1. Hummus 
This is all about tastes and adding as much as you want. So I will give you estimations as to what I put in but please, make it to your taste! And basically Syrian women don’t write down recipes…so I have to work it out too!
2 cups of chickpeas (drained and rinsed…sometimes there is a sweet flavor in the preserving process…when I am really being a homemaker, I start with the dried beans, but this is my fast version!)
Juice from 1 lemon
salt (to taste)
2 tsp. cumin (I really like cumin)
1/4 + cup of tahini (sesame seed paste)
a little olive oil
You can also add garlic the way the Syrians do (powder or fresh…but if I add fresh, I sauté it a bit first)
I start mixing all this together with my hand mixing wand thing or the food processor. The smoother the better! It can get thick and so you can add a little water (slowly…not too much at a time) to get it to the thickness you prefer. Add more of anything you feel like needs to be stronger. We all love hummus. It has lots of protein and makes a good lunch with carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, crackers or Syrian flat bread. Experiment and enjoy!
2. Tabouleh 
2 bunches of flat leaved parsley…chop it as small as you can get it…the smaller the better
1/4 of a bunch of mint leaves (we buy them by the bunch here…maybe 10-15 leaves)…chop them up with the parsley
2-3 tomatoes…also finely chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
1/4+ cup olive oil (you don’t want this salad dry…so you might need more)
salt to taste
3 tbsp. bulgur wheat (the pasta/grain a little bigger than couscous)
Chop and mix the veggies. Put the bulgur in some water to soak (it will grow and get soft)…you don’t cook it! When the bulgur is soft, add it to the salad. Then make the “dressing” from the lemon juice and olive oil. I just play with it until it has a nice citron taste and isn’t dry. You add a little salt to your taste. It is healthy and very tasty. When you chop it small everyone will know you have worked “hard” in the kitchen. They will be impressed!
3. Fasolia (Green Bean Stew)
2 big cans of green beans (frozen green beans, fresh are great too)
1 pound chunks of beef
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
7 spices (or salt and pepper will work too)
olive oil
2 onions
First I take the beef and throw it in a pan with hot oil until it gets a little brown on the outside. Then I add the spices and cover with water. When it comes to a boil, I turn the temp way down and let it slow cook until really tender. When the meat is done, I sauté chopped onions, add in the meat, green beans, and stewed tomatoes. I also add in a little more olive oil and maybe some more salt/pepper to taste. Let that all cook together until the flavors blend. Serve it hot and over (or on the side of) white rice.
4. Makloubeh 
Makloubeh means “to turn over”. So the idea is to cook this dish and turn it over onto a large plate. It is only as pretty as you want it to be. You can garnish it and use whatever kind of meat you want…chicken filet, chicken pieces (still on the bone), beef chunks or even ground beef. So I will give you the basic recipe and let you be creative. However, just know that the essential are some kind of meat, the spices and eggplant.
1-2 pounds ground beef (depending on how many I serve or who is coming for dinner)
3-4 eggplant
7 spices (Lebanese 7-spice mixture; 1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon ground allspice; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon ground Ginger)
You can also add in some cubed or thinly slices potatoes or some zucchini if you want
white rice (I use basmati)
salt
oil for pre-cooking
Cook up your ground beef (or whatever meat) until browned and add in a generous amount of the 7 spices. Put that aside. Cube your eggplant. It can be done early and put in a bowl with salt. The salt will soak out the water and you can squeeze the rest out and it will cook up better. When the eggplant is ready, cook it in the oil and put it aside. Do the same with any other veggie or potato you use. I also pre-cook the rice in the same skillet with a little oil and spices. This keeps your rice separated and individual. I also like to slice an eggplant, cook it in a little oil (or bake it with a little olive oil sprayed on). This I will use for garnish on my finished dish. Now once everything is pre-cooked, get a pot big enough for everything and begin layering the ingredients. I start with meat, eggplant and rice. I try to repeat the layers at least 3 times. When you’ve used all your ingredients, then generously cover rice mixture in the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil and quickly turn down to the lowest temp and cover to finish cooking the rice. When the rice is done, so is your Makloubeh. I usually let it sit a few minutes after it is finished. Then I turn it over on a large plate and use the sliced eggplant for decoration and sometimes sprinkle with a few nuts (any, just not peanuts) if I have them on hand. Serve it hot and it can be served with yogurt too.
5. Moujadara
I love this recipe. It is also vegetarian!
1 cup green lentils (pre-cook them alone for about 15-20 minutes)
1/2 cup white rice (I use basmati)
1 tsp. + cumin
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 onion chopped
3 onions finely sliced
1/4 cup olive oil (plus more to cook the sliced onions)
Pre-cook your lentils because they take longer to cook than the rice. Then drain them, add in the rice, spices, 1/4 cup of oil, and chopped onion. Cover the mixture with water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down temp to low to finish cooking until the rice is finished. While this is cooking, heat some more oil in a pan (as little or much as you want) and sprinkle in the sliced onions. Mix them in the oil until they are covered. Cook them until they are soft and I like them a little dark brown or blackened. Use these onions as your topping. You can also eat Moujadara with yogurt or a salad like Tabouleh.
6. Red Lentil Soup 
1 cup red lentils
1 tbsp. cumin
4 tbsp. olive oil
Salt
1 medium onion
Water
Cook the red lentils in water until really mushy. It can take about 30 minutes. They soak up water fast so you just add as needed. Then cook onion in a skillet with the oil until golden. When the lentils are cooked, add the onions, salt to taste and cumin. Put it all in a blender to puree. Afterward it may still be thick so I just keep adding water until it is the thickness I want. Add lemon juice and maybe even extra cumin when you serve. I cut up lemon wedges and let everyone add in however much lemon juice they want. If you put it in the fridge overnight, you may need to add more water when you heat it up because the lentils keep soaking up water.
You can make it with any color of lentil but the red ones don’t have a shell on so they cook faster.
7. Syrian Foul with Tahini Sauce
So this is normally a breakfast dish but it is good anytime. It is also packed with protein and very vegetarian.
1 16 ounce can of fava beans (a broad bean…foul in Arabic)
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp. tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is always better)
1/2 tsp cumin
olive oil for drizzling on top
Drain the fava beans but save the water from the can. (You could do this with a large brown bean or even chickpeas if you can’t find fava beans). You can begin by heating up the beans but be careful not to burn them. In a bowl mix all the other ingredients with the water from the beans but not the olive oil. When the beans are warm, add in the liquid from the bowl and heat up. When everything is good and warm, serve in a bowl. Top it with chopped tomatoes, parsley, onions, and drizzle that olive oil. Drink a nice cup of tea with it and dip some bread in that sauce. It is a good source of protein anytime of day and very filling!
Seasoned with Spice 