A few years ago I started making sephardic-style charoset for Passover... and I never stopped. Although it is not the classic apple and walnut dish of my youth, I like the flavors better and I find it easier to manage on a piece of matzah with horseradish.

This year, I discovered this Serious Eats recipe, which I found not only tasty but also easy to make. Win win!

Another delicious Ottolenghi recipe, courtesy of Bon Appetit and tweaked just a bit.

½ cup wild rice
Kosher salt
1 cup basmati rice
1 dried Iranian lime (or keffir lime leaf)
2 cups fresh shelled fava beans (can substitute lima beans)
½ cup chopped fresh dill
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup unsalted, raw pistachios
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
½ cup pomegranate seeds

½ pound ground lamb, preferably shoulder
¼ medium onion, very finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup crumbled feta
1 tsp ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch ground cinnamon
½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp cup olive oil, plus more for grilling

2-4 thick medium pita breads with pockets

Using a fork, mix lamb, feta, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and oil in a large bowl. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

I found this recipe on the internet. It was easy to make and pretty tasty. Also, I would imagine you can use almost any green, making this a relatively healthy year-round dish.

4 cups stemmed and torn collard greens or swiss chard (about 1/4 lb or 1 bunch)
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or about 2/3 cup dry beans, soaked and cooked)
3 medium to large cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp tahini
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 salt
1/4 black pepper

This Yotam Ottolenghi recipe was a nice complement to his lamb shawarma dish. It was also a nice, bright, fresh salad at a time of year when you're craving anything but kale. Serving it with labneh makes it a more substantial dish.

Serves at least 4 as a side salad.

Courtesy of Cook's Illustrated.

This is tasty recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds lamb shoulder blade chops, cut into 3/4-inch square pieces, bones reserved

1 1/4 cups water, divided
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 10-ounce box plain couscous

This original recipe (attached) came from a cooking class we took at Lebanese Taverna for a friend's birthday. We finally made this at home, and frankly, the original recipe was way too complicated. I post here a simplified, notional recipe that I may refine in the future.

The basic thing you're making is a layering of chickpeas, chicken, pita chips, yogurt, and garnishes - "Lebanese nachos," if you will. To make this an easy weeknight meal, you're ideally using leftover chickpeas and chicken, buying pre-made pita chips, and doing only minimal preparation on the day of. It does require some pre-planning but makes the final "cooking" really easy. Yes, it's tastier if all of these things are freshly made and still warm, but whatever. I'm a working woman.

This tasty and relatively easy recipe came from this fantastic cookbook centered on one of my favorite cuisines. The recipe calls for a mix of lamb and veal, but lamb alone would probably be good too.

Makes 24 kofta.

1 lb ground lamb
1 lb ground veal
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3-4 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 large medium-hot red chile, seeded
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
3 gloves garlic, minced
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
4 Tbsp olive oil

To finish:
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons mint leaves, chopped
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional: top with smoked salt.

Char eggplants on a stove top (~20 minutes), grill or on a broil mode in the oven (~45 minutes, turning twice). Turn around so it is very charred all around. If broiling, piece the skin in multiple places.

Adapted from The Bitten Word, adapted from Food & Wine.  We didn't have any Harissa handy, so we improvised.  This salad provides a great, bright and spicy contrast to a tagine dish.

For the salad

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A delicious and easy Bon Appetit recipe.

Serves 2

1/4 cup olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon peel (optional)
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more

1 medium eggplant (9–10 ounces), halved lengthwise

From Bon Appetit halved (still serves four) and with some modifications:

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeños, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained (or 1 can chickpeas)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 14-ounce can tomatoes (diced or whole+hand-crushed), juices reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
3/4 cup coarsely crumbled feta

1 cup couscous
1 small red onion, small dice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, warm
1/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup whole almonds toasted, coarsely chopped
2 scallions green parts only
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped plus leaves for garnish
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of lemon zest
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

I never met a yogurt dip I didn't like. Seriously. If there's ever one on a menu, I order it. I will slather it on everything, especially middle eastern and mediterranean foods.

Instead of proliferating pages and pages of yogurt dip recipes, I've decided to collect them all here. In most cases, the dips will be better on the second day once the flavors have had a chance to marry.

In Austin, there used to be a fantastic Turkish restaurant called Ararat - one of Austin's best kept restaurant secrets (that everyone knows). They had bellydancing all weekend and live bands during the week, and some of the best middle eastern food you'll find. It was a small place with rug-covered walls that was always jam-packed.