Fattoush (Lebanese traditional salad) - الفتوش

Ingredients: (serves 4)
8 leaves of romaine lettuce medium sliced
2 tomatoes (medium diced)
1 cucumber sliced,(small size, if other: about a handful or 2)
1 onion sliced half circle
1 clove of garlic mashed or very thinly sliced
2 handful of parsley leaves
1 small bellpepper, medium to small sliced
4 leaves of white cabbage cut in half and sliced
Few mint leaves
4 radishes sliced
2 green onions sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 cup of watercress or purslane
1 medium pita bread opened, cut in small cubes and toasted
1 tablespoon of summack spice (found in middle eastern foodstores)
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup of olive oil

Mix sliced onions with salt and summack, add the garlic then add all the vegetables, add lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Top with toasted bread right before serving.

Tip: Some people prefer the bread fried in vegetable oil (for 1 minute then dried on a paper towel), it's really good!!! Also some people like to substitute lemon juice with vinegar.

Hommus (Lebanese chickpeas paste) - الحمص بالطحينة

1 can of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans)

1 clove of garlic

2-3 tablespoons tahini paste (sesame paste)

Juice of one lemon

A pinch of salt

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, until you get the paste. You may want to add a little bit of water if the tahini is too thick. Add olive oil on top right before serving.

Baba Ghannouj: (Eggplant dip)

Replace the chickpeas with 1 medium grilled and peeled eggplant.

Tabbouli (Lebanese Parsley salad) - تبولة

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

1 bunch of parsley (washed, finely chopped, try not to include the long stems)

1 medium onion (optional: some green onions are good too)

1 tomato

Juice of one lemon

Few fresh mint leaves (washed and chopped)

1/2 teaspoon of 7 spices (or allspice)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2-3 tablespoons of fine burgul (or wheat germs)

6 tablespoons of olive oil (or eye ball it depending on taste)

Dice the onion and mix it with salt and allspice and put it the serving bowl. Dice the tomato and add it to the onion, then add the chopped parsley and mint, bulgur (soak the bulgur in a little bit of water if it's not fine, no need to soak wheat germs, just add it to the ingredients). Add lemon juice, olive oil. Mix all together and serve.You can garnish it with some diced tomatoes.

Tips on how to eat it:In Lebanon we serve it with romaine lettuce hearts or white cabbage. Take a soft leaf of lettuce, fill it with Tabbouli and enjoy a tabbouli boat!