Beirut, Lebanon
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Beirut, Lebanon is located near the middle of Lebanon’s western Mediterranean coast. A large mountain chain borders the city from the northeast and the land flattens out as one heads south.
Lebanon manages to field an impressive and idealized version of Mediterranean cuisine thanks to its fortunate combination of rich agricultural resources, temperate climate and plentiful access to fresh water sources in most parts of the country. The country’s agricultural regions grow a wide array of crops including citrus, olives, pine nuts, pomegranate, almonds, walnuts, tomatoes, eggplant and several types of greens. Lamb and chicken are widely consumed and fish is available locally in many towns and villages.
There is a standard repertoire of typical breakfasts in Beirut – three of the most popular are: the basic breakfast, the manaeesh and the kanafe. The basic breakfast for Beirutis consists of either regular flat bread or a bread called khubiz maruuq which is a very fine, thin flat bread formed on a saj (inverted convex oven). Either of these is stuffed with a mix of vegetables and cheeses which change according to season and availability. This could include any combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, labne (strained, whole fat yogurt available in many forms) green onions and mint leaves. In smaller villages, preserved eggplant, awarme (lamb preserved in fat) and other traditional preserved items are also included. Strong, thick Arabic coffee is drunk, either with or without sugar, in small porcelain cups. In many houses, coffee is still brewed in large samovars, sometimes with cardamom. Manaeesh is a thicker, chewy bread that is also formed on the saj. Manaeesh is filled with za'atar (a combination of thyme, sumac and other spices stirred into extra virgin olive oil) and cheese and an assortment of raw vegetables. Kanafe is a baked cheese confection that has a crunchy, slightly sweet crust. Kanafe is wrapped into a thin brioche-like piece of bread and often drizzled with ataar, essence of rose.
Lunch can be anything you’d like it to be, but a Lebanese favorite at home are the Egyptian mollokhaya – bitter greens boiled down to almost a soup, served on top of rice, with chicken, raw diced onions soaked in lemon juice, topped with toasted, cracked pita bread. Often, the lunch at home is composed of several cold salads and some type of grilled meat. For a casual lunch out, many Beirutis will opt for a falafel or schwarma – fried chickpea paste in a pita with radishes, tomatoes, pickled peppers and other vegetables and topped with chopped parsley (often combined with thinly sliced onions and sumac) and tahini.
Dinner in Lebanon is typically served family-style and includes a series of appetizers meze, some of which are lubia bi zayt , green beans cooked with garlic and tomatoes, a wide variety of eggplant dishes both hot and cold, may include meat, fish, or poultry. A favored fish in Beirut is called saydali and is a firm, white fish which is grilled. This is served with a special spiced rice topped with almonds that have been soaked in olive oil and then roasted and eaten with a raw cabbage salad with olive oil and lemon juice. Farekee is a special lamb dish that is combined with roasted green wheat and topped with labne. Kibbe nayi is ground, raw lamb served spiced and drizzled with olive oil. However, it is standard practice in Beirut to eat a large lunch and a light dinner which may consist of just a few salads and some labne and bread.
Daqaqa, or “snacks” are eaten throughout the day and are purchased on the street. One popular snack is boiled yellow beans “turblos” with salt. Any street corner may have an old man selling fresh coconut hacked into holdable slices, or a cart with boiled corn on the cob which is served with lemon and a cuminy spice mixture.
The wide range of desserts in Lebanon is too long a discussion to attempt here, but in general, in many homes, dessert consists of a bowl of fruit whose contents depend on the season – lucky is the one who eats dessert in November and December, when ishta, the custard apple is in season. There is also a wide variety of confections made with puff pastry and orange and rose essence, others, including ma'amoul – a short bread cookie stuffed with dates.
For information on places to stay in Beirut at discount prices, please visit Where to Stay in Beirut.
Contributors
Ria Merrill Riesner is originally from Washington, DC but has devoted several years of her adult life to both completing advanced language and regional studies in the Middle East and familiarizing herself with the region's many outstanding contributions to good eating.
