Turkish cuisine
Halloumi: The Cheese That Refuses to Melt
Country of origin: Cyprus (with a long shared history across the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant) A firm, salty,…
Egyptian cuisine
Basbousa: The Semolina Cake With a Dozen Regional Names
Country of origin: Egypt (with widely claimed variations across the Levant, Turkey, and beyond) Today’s random pick lands…
Lebanese cuisine
Tabbouleh: The Parsley Salad Where the Ratio Is Everything
Tabbouleh — a bright, herb-forward salad built primarily from finely chopped parsley, with tomato, mint, bulgur, lemon juice,…
Israel
Shakshuka: The Egg Dish With More Homelands Than Most
Shakshuka — eggs gently poached directly in a simmering, spiced tomato and pepper sauce, served straight from the…
Jordanian cuisine
Manakish: The Levantine Flatbread Built Around a Single Spice Blend
Manakish (singular: manoushe) — a flatbread topped most classically with za’atar and olive oil, baked until the edges…
Levantine cuisine
Warak Enab: The Patience Dish of Stuffed Grape Leaves
Warak enab (literally “grape leaves” in Arabic, also known as dolma across much of the former Ottoman world)…
Egyptian cuisine
Ful Medames: Possibly the Oldest Dish Still Eaten Today
A slow-simmered fava bean dish, mashed and dressed with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and cumin, eaten across Egypt…
Turkish cuisine
Shawarma: How a Turkish Cooking Method Became the Arab World’s Favorite Street Food
Shawarma – thin-sliced, marinated meat stacked on a vertical spit and slow-roasted as it turns, shaved off in…
Egyptian cuisine
Umm Ali: The Egyptian Dessert With a Legend Baked Into Its Name
A warm, rich Egyptian bread pudding made from flaky pastry soaked in sweetened milk, studded with nuts and…
Turkish cuisine
Baklava: The Dessert Claimed by an Entire Empire’s Worth of Kitchens
Layers of paper-thin phyllo pastry, brushed with butter, filled with chopped nuts, and soaked in sweet syrup or…