levantine cuisine

ATAYEF | Stuffed Pancake Turnovers, a dessert specialty of the Levant

October 6, 2013
Breakfast + Brunch, Desserts, Food + Culture, Made by Me, Recipe Box, The Khohanotz
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Akkawi cheese, arabic sweets, ashta, atayef, batter, cake flour, clotted cream, dessert, katayif, levantine cuisine, mahlab, middle eastern food, nuts, orange blossom water, pancakes, qashta, qatayef, recipe, ricotta, rose water, semolina, simple syrup, street food, sweet treats, turnovers, walnut, white brine cheese, yeast, جبن عكاوي, طريقه عمل عجينه القطايف, قشطة, قطايف

Atayef, Katayif, Qatayef

Although commonly labeled as Arabic pancakes, these feel more like British crumpets to me; a griddle cake stuffed with cheese, clotted cream or nuts and served as dessert.

Watermelon Wedge Salad with White Brined Cheese

September 24, 2013
Cold Appetizer, First Course Dishes, Made by Me, Party Food, Recipe Box, Salads, Summer, The Khohanotz
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armenian food, black caraway seeds, Chèvre, chives, citrus dressing, goat cheese, green tea, levantine cuisine, nabulsi cheese, orange zest, red onion, salad, summer, watermelon, white tea

Watermelon Wedge Salad with Nabulsi Cheese, Orange Zest, Black Caraway Seeds and Green-Tea Infused Citrus Dressing.

Kibbet Samak | Salmon Kibbeh Stuffed with Shrimp & Roasted Peppers

June 10, 2013
Appetizers, Cookbook Recipe, Hot Appetizer, Made by Me, Party Food, Recipe Box, Seafood, The Khohanotz
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Atlantic salmon, bell peppers, bulgur, cookbook recipe, deep-fried, fish kibbeh, Greg Malouf, Hardie Grant Books, kibbeh, kofte, kubba, kubbeh, kufta, kufteh, lebanese food, levantine cuisine, Lucy Malouf, make-ahead, mezze, middle eastern food, pine nuts, recipe, Saha, salmon, seafood, shallots, shrimp, small plates, syrian recipe, tapas, քյուֆթա, كبة السمك

Mantabour | Armenian Yogurt and Dumpling Soup

April 14, 2013
Made by Me, Main Courses, Noodles + Pasta, Recipe Box, Soup + Stew, The Khohanotz
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ancient armenia, Antimo Caputo 00 Chef's Flour, armenian food, beef mince, chicken base, Cilician Armenia, comfort food, culture, demi-glace, dinner, dough, dumpling, food+cooking, freeze-for-later, greek-style yogurt, kefir cheese, King Arthur Italian-Style Flour, labne, labneh, lebni, levantine cuisine, madzoon abour, make-ahead, mantabour, manti, manti çorbası, manti dough, middle eastern food, mint, one-dish meal, recipe, shishbarak, soup, southern caucasian cuisine, spas, step-by-step recipe, strained yogurt, sulu manti, tanabour, tipo '00' flour, yayla çorbası, yogurt, Մանթի, ششبرك

Manti are tiny ring shaped tortellini-like dumplings (agantch, in Armenian) that are either baked or boiled like pasta. Tanabour, Madzoon Abour or Spas is a classic soup made with yogurt; but traditionally made with dried buttermilk. Once combined together it turns into a one-dish meal better known as Mantabour.

Fatayer bil Jibneh | Savory Cheese Hand Pies

October 16, 2012
Breads + Savory Pastries, Breakfast + Brunch, Made by Me, Party Food, Recipe Box, The Khohanotz, Yeast Breads
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afternoon tea, aleppo pepper, baking, balkan cuisine, black caraway seeds, börek, bourekas, braided armenian string cheese, bread, breakfast, dough, fatayer, finger food, flavors of anatolia, halloumi cheese, hand pies, khachapuri, levantine cuisine, mahlab, mediterranean cooking, middle eastern food, nabulsi cheese, nibbles+bites, peynirli pide, recipe, savory pastries, snack, southern caucasian cuisine, step-by-step recipe, street food, فطائر بالجبنة, معجنات

Simply put, fatayer is pizza-like dough, rolled crispy thin or fluffy thick, and stuffed with filling; herbed cheese in this case. Various adaptations of these savory hand pies can be found throughout the Levant, the South Caucasus, Southeast Europe (The Balkans), North Africa, Anatolia and surrounding regions.

Usually served during breakfast, they are equally great to snack on throughout the day or devour with a cup of tea at an afternoon tea gathering; not to mention the perfect party food ~ no forks or knives needed.

Copy-Cat Manti | Phyllo Dough Roses with Yoghurt + Chili Oil

August 13, 2012
Breads + Savory Pastries, Made by Me, Main Courses, Meat, Recipe Box, The Khohanotz
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aleppo pepper, armenian food, beef mince, chili oil, Cilician Armenia, dinner, dumpling, levantine cuisine, lunch, manti, phyllo dough, polaroids, southern caucasian cuisine, step-by-step recipe, yogurt

Manti is a type of dumpling made with unleavened pastry dough and filled with minced lamb or beef. It can be prepared a number of ways, which I will cover in future posts. This recipe for phyllo dough roses, or rosettes, is meant to mimic the experience of savoring manti without all the hustle and bustle of making it. But why roses one might ask? Because rolls are not pretty enough!

According to some researchers, manti first reached Cilician Armenia as a result of the cultural interaction between Armenians and Mongols during their alliance in the 13th century. However, some researchers do not discount the possibility that manti may have originated in the Mid East and spread eastward to Korea and China through the Silk Road (source).