The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage

If you ask me what my favorite cuisine is, it would be difficult to choose between Lebanese and Moroccan. However if you limit it to vegetarian dishes I would certainly go for Lebanese. My favorite Moroccan dishes are lamb tagine with dried prunes, chicken pastilla, and coucous with lamb or chicken. However, with Lebanese cuisine, vegetarian mezze always wins, and i never have enough space when the grilled meat reaches the table. Why would I bother leaving space in my stomach for grilled meat or even dessert when I could feast on taboule, fattoush, hummus, baba ganoush, muhamara, eggplant musa’a and so much more, all served with freshly baked warm Arabic bread. And these are just the cold mezze, with so many warm vegetarian options like zaater or spinach fatayer and pumpkin kibbeh.

If you’re anything like me, then you would love this book! If you always get full on the mezze in Lebanese restaurants – omnivore, vegetarian or vegan – get this book! The Middle Easter Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage, has such a large variety of dishes with beautiful photos, you won’t know where to start. Almost all of the ingredients are simple and can be found at most supermarkets. The recipes are well explained and easy to follow. So many of the recipes are vegan and/or gluten-free, however, when not and if appropriate recipes have recommendations to make them vegan or gluten-free.

I’ve tried so many recipes and still have so many more I would like to try. The fatoush is the one we do most often, however, her grainy salads are so delicious and colorful, as in the Freekah salad pictured below. There is a wide selection of dips, my favorite being the avocado mint dip. The spinach & feta pastries were a hit with my family, and a recipe I will come back to again and again.

Even though it’s a middle eastern book, there are a few recipes that are not considered so, such as crepes, granola, oat bars, veggie burgers and crumble. The book is divided into 7 sections – Drinks, Breakfast, Dips and Mezzes, Salads, Vegetables, Legumes and Grains, and Desserts. There is also a section for Basic Recipes including items like a spice mix, zaater, and labne.

If you get this book or have this book, let me know in the comments below what recipes you tried. And I would love to know – what is your favorite type of cuisine?