A Lebanese Quick Dish

We were off to friends' house for a little party, and so I needed to quickly put something together for the kids. Only having Middle Eastern ingredients in the house, I searched for a recipe that wouldn't take long. I found this in Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou and deviated slightly from the recipe.

On a side note, and I feared this would happen, Ms. Helou says in her introduction:

Lebanese cuisine as we know it today has evolved through these successive invasions with each culture leaving its mark. Those who seem to have left the most perceptible signs of influence are the Egyptians, Persians, ancient Greeks and Ottomans. The French... had in their mere 25 years in the Lebanon a strong refining influence on the local cuisine. This probably explains why Lebanese food is that much more varied and refined than that of its Middle Eastern neighbours...

It might be difficult to dissociate our food from that of Syria, Jordan and Palestine but our cuisine is quite distinctive from theirs. There is one main geographical difference... in that there is no desert land and therefore no nomadic Bedouin population with its culinary tradition...

She continues on various topics as to why Lebanon should not be bundled with Middle Eastern cuisine. I do see her point - and I think other countries could argue the same. I've made a few recipes from a Persian (Iranian) cookbook that seem quite distinct as well. I will cook from some solo countries - and I'd love to do that with the Middle Eastern region - but it may be 80 years before we complete our journey, so I'm bundling some cuisines together. Hopefully, I am covering a little from each country within the ME while respecting and highlighting their differences.

So let's get this recipe up! It's called Minced Meat, Tomato, and Onion Bread (Lahem bil-Ajeen).

Serves 4

4 Naan bread ovals or other flat bread

1 medium onion, very finely chopped

1 medium tomato, peeled (if desired) and diced into 1/4-inch square cubes

salt to taste

5 oz. lean minced (ground) lamb or beef

1 teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or garam masala

1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)

3 tablespoons plain yogurt or tahini (optional)

1 tablespoon pine nut (optional)

Mix onions, tomatoes, and salt together with your fingers to soften the vegetables. Drain any juices.

Add rest of ingredients except the pine nuts, and mix together until well blended.

Spread a quarter of the mixture on top of each bread piece, and then sprinkle with pine nuts.

(Pre-baked picture: )

Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the breads and nuts are golden brown.