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The history of Levantine cuisine can be traced back to the early civilizations that flourished in the region, such as the Arameans, Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Hittites, and Arabians. These ancient cultures developed complex agricultural systems, producing grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that would become staples of the Levantine diet. Bread, olive oil, and wine were integral to the cuisine from the very beginning, and remain so today.[2]
Many recipes and practices common to Levantine cuisine were recorded in historical cookbooks, like the 13th century Kitab al-Wuslah ila l-habib from Aleppo and Ustadh al-Tabbakhin by 19th century Lebanese author Khalil Khattar Sarkis[ar].[2]
Levantine diets shifted drastically between the 1960s and the 1990s, early studies from that era described them as largely seasonal, plant-based, and low to moderate in animal product consumption, whereas later studies described them as consuming more processed foods, animal products and refined carbohydrates.[3] Such seasonal foods were traditionally preserved using pickling, fermentation, and drying.[4][5][3]
Levantine dishes
Classic
Baba ghanoush
Mezes or small dishes
Baba ghanoush[1] (بابا غنوج)—a dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings
Fasoulia (فاصوليا)—a stew prepared with white beans and meat served over rice
Fatteh (فتّة)—chicken over rice, topped with yogurt and pita bread
Hummus a thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and olive oil
Freekeh (فريكة)—a cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour, then served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb-tail fat
Harees–Cracked wheat and meat porridge or gruel with seasoning
Kabsa (كبسة)—a rice-based dish commonly eaten with meat, lamb or chicken, cooked in a variety of spices and topped with nuts over rice and prepared in Syria and Gaza[10][11]
Kebab (كباب)—a dish of ground beef or lamb, grilled or roasted on a skewer
Kebab karaz (كباب كرز)—a type of kebab made of lamb meatballs in a cherry-based broth with pine nuts and sour cherries over pita bread
Kousa mahshi (كوسا محشي)—zucchinis baked and stuffed with minced meat and rice in a tomato-based sauce
Malfouf (ملفوف)–rolled cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, meat and spices[12]
Jordanian lamb mansaf
Mansaf (منسف)—lamb or chicken cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served over rice
Maqluba (مقلوبة)—a rice-based casserole with meat, rice, and fried vegetables in a pot, which is flipped upside down when served, hence the name, which literally translates as "upside-down"
Mujaddara (مجدرة)—cooked lentils with groats, generally rice, garnished with sautéed onions
Mulukhiyah (ملوخية)—a stew cooked with mallow leaves, mucillagenous like okra, eaten with chicken in a thick broth
Classic musakhan – roasted chicken on a bed of bread, pine nuts, onions and spices
Qidreh (قدرة)—a lamb stew with chickpeas, garlic and spices, commonly served over rice
Quzi (قوزي)—a hearty dish of roasted lamb with raisins, nuts and spices over rice or wrapped in taboon bread
Shish kebab (شيش كباب)—grilled or roasted chunks of meat on a skewer, commonly served over flatbread or rice
Sumaghiyyeh (سماقية)—ground sumac is soaked in water then mixed with tahina (sesame-seed paste), water and flour, added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans
Zibdieh (زبدية)—a clay-pot dish of shrimp baked in a stew of olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, and peeled tomatoes
Breads
Ka'ak (كعك)—a type of biscuit/cookie shaped into a ring, occasionally sprinkled with sesame seeds
Markook (مرقوق)—a thin, unleavened flatbread baked on an iron griddle known as saj
In Levantine countries, mouneh (Arabic: مونة) is the practice of preserving seasonal foods for times of scarcity, these includes syrups, jams, dried foods, pickles, among others.[5][15][16][4]
Wright, Clifford A. (2003). Little foods of the Mediterranean: 500 fabulous recipes for antipasti, tapas, hors d'oeuvre, meze, and more (Illustrateded.). Harvard Common Press. ISBN1-55832-227-2.
Further reading
Anny Gaul, Graham Auman Pitts, Vicki Valosik, eds., Making Levantine cuisine: modern foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean, University of Texas Press, 2022, ISBN978-1-4773-2457-8, OCLC1243014864
Sami Zubaida, "National, Communal and Global Dimensions in Middle Eastern Food Cultures" in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000, ISBN1-86064-603-4, p.35.
Jean Bottéro, The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press, 2004, ISBN0226067343
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