From humble hummus to falafels, comforting tagines and luscious desserts, Middle Eastern cuisine is often defined by the concept of mezze.
In fact, Middle Eastern covers a wide range of cuisines from Moroccan to Iranian, Turkish and Lebanese and is generally characterised by fragrant and copious spics, nuts, olive oil and creamy elements.
For those wanting to recreate a Middle Eastern feast at home, we have three tried and true recipes sure to put the wow in your next family dinner or special event:
This vibrant Spring dip is quick and easy to make and can be garnished with toasted pine nuts, dukkah or fresh herbs, before being smothered on crisp bread or pita, as an ideal starter to a meal.
"This is a dish that you are going to want to cook over and over. Dead simple and packed full of flavour. For me a slow-roasted lamb shoulder is one of the best meat dishes you can cook—full of flavour, moisture and so satisfying to eat and serve to your friends and family,” says Chef Shane Delia.
"Long and slow is the way to go with this recipe. All the work is in the preparation of the meat and then it's just a matter of putting it in the oven and letting it go to work. If you can't get the saltbush don't worry. It adds real mineral earth saltiness to the dish, but you can make do without it. The real surprise in this dish is the caramelised rockmelon. The sweetness in the dish is a real knockout especially with the introduction of fresh herbs, Aleppo pepper and lemon juice."
Sweet spice blends are popular in the Middle Eastern kitchen and this Arabic five-spice, with its heady notes of aniseed and cinnamon, works wonderfully well with pineapple, especially when infused into a warming rum caramel.
"As ever when using spices, for maximum impact make this from fresh whole spices and grind them yourself. Although we usually serve this spiced pineapple compote with a simple ice cream – saffron is our favourite, but good-quality commercial vanilla would also be fine – it's surprisingly versatile and can also be used in sweet tarts and pastries or to accompany rum babas. For a slightly more elaborate ‘composed' dessert, we will often add a crunchy component, such as cardamom fritters, or the orange-cardamom wafers suggested here." - Greg and Lucy Malouf.
