The curried vegetables will heat quickly in a skillet, then drop a few eggs in little wells in the vegetables until the whites just set. The dish is reminiscent of Middle Eastern shakshuka. Use toasted naan to scoop up sauce and golden runny yolks.
Serve this sauteed zucchini, turmeric, and yogurt dip as an appetizer with toasted pita or flatbread or as a sauce with kebabs.
This dish is based on a Turkish stuffing for vegetables, a delicate sweet-savory rice mixture seasoned with allspice, cinnamon, parsley, and dill or mint. I decided to use barley instead of rice for a heartier dish. Once stuffed, the vegetables are gently cooked in a mixture of water and oil.
This is an adaptation of a Turkish recipe, a sweet and savory combination of lentils, onions and carrots that can be served hot or at room temperature, as a main dish or a side.
This dip is on the mild side. For a little more kick, increase the amount of dried crushed red pepper. Great dip for parties.
Sandra sent Whole Foods a recipe for her family's tabbouleh which uses quinoa instead of the traditional bulgur for a gluten-free version. She notes "We are of Lebanese-descent, and my mother found out that she had Celiac Decease about 10 years ago. This tabbouleh recipe is preferred by all of us to the bulgur wheat variety! Pretty strong endorsement from a Lebanese family!" This flavorful salad can stand alone as a vegetarian main dish, thanks to quinoa's protein content, or be served as a side dish or sandwich filling.
Serve with pita wedges, in pita pockets, or as part of a mezze platter.
AYTEKIN YAR, the executive chef at Dardanel on the Upper East Side, eats mucver — delicate, crisp zucchini pancakes — at four in the afternoon, before he starts cooking for the dinner crowd. “I love it because it’s tasty, and it’s not heavy,” Mr. Yar said. His version of mucver (pronounced MOOSH-vair) has not just shredded zucchini, but also tiny clouds of feta and a sprinkling of minced fresh dill and scallions. They are crisp on the outside, tender within and subtly herbaceous. Mr. Yar was born in Turkey, and his grandmother and mother made the dish a bit differently there.
Inspired by a Lebanese pasta dish, we toss steamed green beans with garlicky yogurt for an easy side dish. Try it with roast lamb.
The cuisines of most Mediterranean and Middle East countries include some type of eggplant salad. The purple orb is usually grilled or roasted, mashed or pureed, and seasoned with olive oil and lemon, at a minimum. In this most basic form, the dish is often called “peasant caviar,” presumably because after grilling or roasting, this pedestrian vegetable assumes a rich, lush -- patrician, if you will -- texture.