Healthy Recipes Healthy Regional Recipes Healthy Middle Eastern Recipes Healthy Lebanese Recipes to Give You a Taste of the Middle East By EatingWell Editors EatingWell Editors Facebook Instagram Twitter Articles by "EatingWell Editors" are a collaborative effort from our in-house team. Sometimes, articles are updated by a number of writers and editors over time to keep the information as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible. The EatingWell team includes industry-leading food and nutrition editors, registered dietitians, expert Test Kitchen staffers and designers who produce award-winning journalism, delicious recipes and engaging content. Our work has earned more than 50 national and international awards for writing, editing, art direction, creative marketing and publishing excellence EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on August 27, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Taste the middle east through savory mezze dishes that have layered simple ingredients, with exciting spices to create dishes like, Pumpkin Kibbeh. Many Lebanese dishes include chickpeas or fava beans to create a spiced hummus or sauce, an important part of every Lebanese meal. Most dishes are vegetarian or use meat sparingly due to the traditional Levant style of cooking, red meat is uncommon but when used it is usually, goat or lamb. 01 of 09 Greens with Crispy Onions (Hendbeh b' Zeit) View Recipe Wilted greens topped with fried onions is a mezze must. Bitter dandelion greens are the most flavorful, but chard or kale--really any green or a combination of them--tastes delicious. 02 of 09 Chard Stalks in Tarator (Dlou' Selee' Mtaballeh) View Recipe Tarator is an easy-to-prepare tahini sauce that often accompanies baked fish, shawarma, falafel or cooked vegetables like these chard stalks. 03 of 09 Chickpeas with Garlicky Yogurt & Toasted Pita (Fatteh Hommos) View Recipe Fatteh means "broken" and signifies a dish of toasted bread pieces mixed with other ingredients. In this easy recipe, the yogurt is also "broken" with tahini, garlic and oil. Enjoy it immediately, before the crispy bread gets soggy from the yogurt. 04 of 09 Freekeh with Grilled Vegetables (Frikeh bel Khodra) View Recipe Soaking the freekeh and cooking it with caramelized onions results in an almost risotto-like texture. Grill up your favorite vegetables in place of the zucchini, carrots and scallions, if you like--or skip the vegetables altogether and serve it as a simple whole-grain side. It's really that good on its own. 05 of 09 Stewed Okra (Yakhnet Bemyieh) View Recipe Simmered in a tomato sauce fragrant with garlic and cilantro and finished with pomegranate molasses, this okra recipe might be just the dish that turns okra haters into lovers. 06 of 09 Pumpkin Kibbeh (Kebbet Laa'tin) View Recipe "Kibbeh" describes dishes made with bulgur, onions and spices. That mixture is combined with everything from tomatoes to goat. It's layered and baked, shaped into balls or footballs, stuffed, deep-fried or eaten raw. This vegetarian kibbeh recipe is made with pumpkin and stuffed with seasoned greens. Sorrel adds a lemony flavor, but you can use chard or kale and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the filling. Use fine bulgur or the texture of the dough will be gritty. 07 of 09 Carob Molasses Cake (Sfouf b' Debs) View Recipe With all due respect to baklava, we've found a new favorite Lebanese dessert. This rich, moist cake is sweetened with carob molasses and has a hit of anise. We may or may not have fought over it in the Test Kitchen. 08 of 09 Middle Eastern Braised Cauliflower View Recipe In this healthy vegetable side dish recipe, the flavors of Lebanese lubiyeh (green beans and lamb braised in a flavorful tomato sauce) are applied to cauliflower with delicious results. 09 of 09 Lamb & Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves View Recipe These traditional Lebanese lamb-and-rice stuffed grape leaves are fragrant with mint, marjoram, cinnamon, cumin and allspice. Serve with lemon wedges and plain yogurt for dipping. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit