Falafel is, perhaps, the original street gourmet food of the Middle East. While its origins remain shrouded, the inimitably vague finger of academia has pointed to it being first made in Egypt, perhaps as a meat-substitute during Lent.
There are always several balls of pizza dough stored away in my freezer. Divided into portions of around 100g, with a few added ingredients they make a delicious and frugal meal in almost no time at all. While these za’atar flatbreads are by no means intended to be a meal in and of themselves, served alongside an orzo salad or red cabbage slaw they certainly add the finishing touches to dinner time. Really, this recipe is astonishingly quick and the results are among the most mouthwatering available on the food blog market.
Frugal desserts and puddings are often difficult to put together in a short time frame. Yes, you can boil down berries with a little lemon zest and sugar, but serve you well on a special occasion it will not. This simple recipe for Dried Figs in Honey, however, ticks all the boxes. Not only does it take a matter of minutes to “throw together” it is sweet, decadent and satisfying.
First produced in what is now Turkey, the term ‘borek’ refers to any filo-based pastry and has a seemingly inexhaustible number of variations across regions formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. So simple and quick to make are borek that it is easy to see why they have become popular across a large area. This recipe for Feta and Spinach Borek is, in particular, very speedy, with the flavour of the ingredients being allowed to speak for themselves. Of course, more intricate combinations may be attempted, but it seems a shame to over-complicate such an effortless treat.
As mentioned in my recent post about how to make it, labneh is a type of soft cheese made by straining yoghurt through muslin. Though it is undoubtedly delicious alone, or spread generously on a bagel, labneh also happens to be incredibly versatile. Though there are multiple examples of what one can do with labneh out there, here is my take on just one type of Middle Eastern meze – Labneh with Sumac, Hazelnuts and Mint.