Lebanese Light Dinner

One of the things we love in Dubai is the abundance of good Lebanese food. In fact Lebanese kitchen is very similar to Turkish one with its variety of mezzes, salads, vegetable dishes and kebabs. Our favorite salad Fattoush is one of the main mezze of a Lebanese restaurant and although it is a simple one, it is not always easy to balance the dressing. One of the key ingredients in the dressing is Pomegranate syrup (that’s what we call in Turkey) which we can’t find everywhere in Dubai (sometimes in Wafi Gourmet) and the other one is sumac. Last night we decided to try this Fattoush with a twist which Alp found from epicurious.com. We added grilled zucchini and bell peppers to usual tomato, cucumbers, spring onions, fresh mint and coriander. We added pitted black olives and feta cheese as well (not always added on fattoush). And of course what makes a fattoush is the grilled pita bread pieces. And finally the dressing (this one doesn’t include Pomegranate syrup but has cumin) and heaps of sumac. It was delicious. Hence this fresh and healthy salad is definitely a candidate for tonight’s experimental Lebanese dinner by Tracey and Michelle. According to the rumors they will cook meat dolma (more known as dolmades – my favorite dish from childhood and still whenever I visit my grandma she always has tiny meat dolma for me. Unfortunately it takes almost a day to prepare and cook and that’s if you can find the suitable wine leaves. Even our fussy eater Asli liked it when she was 2). Ah, and we had cheese quesadillas with home-made guacamole with our Fattoush. And we fell asleep watching interesting life story of Coco Chanel on dvd (not because the movie was boring it’s me who can’t keep her eyes open after 10.30pm these days).


Grilled Zucchini and Bell Pepper Fattoush