This New York Times Cooking recipe was surprisingly easy and delicious... and it makes great leftovers. Winner!

Ingredients
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
9 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano or mint
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (your choice thighs or breasts)
3-4 mini cucumbers
1 large tomato
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
4 ounces feta, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

Via Bon Appetit, with some modifications:

• 4 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
• Kosher salt
• Very small potatoes (or sunchokes?), cut down to 1" diameter pieces (about 6 fingerling potatoes)
• 2 tablespoons harissa paste
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 medium leeks (white and light green parts), cleaned, thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed

1½ cups cooked farro (~2 cups dry, cooked)
½ cup pistachios
2 cups coarsely chopped mixed fresh cilantro, mint, and parsley
⅓ cup golden raisins
1 serrano chile, sliced into rings

For the dressing:
1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger
½ teaspoon honey
⅓ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more

Roast pistachios in a skillet over medium heat.

In a large bowl, combine cooled/drained cooked farro, pistachios, raisins, herbs, and chiles; toss to combine.

Bon Appetit called this recipe Tunisian-style eggs, but we instantly recognized it as a close cousin to the Berber Eggs we had for breakfast in Morocco. We tweaked the recipe slightly, and it was delicious!

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 red bell peppers, cored, chopped or thinly sliced into strips
1/2 large tomato, finely diced
3+ tablespoon harissa paste and/or dried spice mix

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

Based off of this recipe, we simply used a pre-made pizza dough and focused on the fillings.

Pre-heat oven to 400°F

½lbs minced beef or lamb (or pre-seasoned sausage, removed from casing)
1 Onion
2 or 3 Green peppers or red
1 large tomato
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground sweet red pepper or paprika
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
½ cup finely shredded cheese to melt on top

Finely mince onion, peppers and tomato

2 pounds small carrots or other hearty winter vegetable (we used brussels sprouts), salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander or fennel
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup labneh (or plain Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus more
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus more
Lemon wedges (for serving)

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.

I've had versions of this dish in various restaurants, but never attempted it at home before. I found a lot of recipes online and cobbled together a best of breed. This recipe isn't difficult, but it does take about 4 hours from start to finish.

Based on this recipe from Bon Appetit

Dressing
1 small shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Salad
2 cups cooked basmati rice, cooled
2 cups bite-size pieces assorted vegetables (such as radishes, tomatoes, peas, summer squash) or carrot ribbons
3/4 cup torn mixed leafy greens, sprouts, and herbs

Courtesy of Bon Appetit, an easy and tasty recipe with a middle eastern flavor profile.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 pound skinless salmon fillet (preferably wild), cut into 1-inch pieces
1-2 lemons, sliced into rounds approx 1/4" thick
2 tablespoons olive oil

As someone who has no fewer than 5 kinds of rice in the house at any one time, I can attest that different kinds of rice require different cooking methods. Here are some of the most successful methods I've found for different kinds of rice:

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.

We hosted family for Thanksgiving this year and found ourselves innovating to accommodate a gluten-free family member. We very easily modified David Lebovitz's original recipe to create a delicious dish that everyone loved.

​1 1/2-pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 large onion, peeled and minced
1 cup quinoa (alternatively, for a gluten dish, use 1 3/4 cup Israeli couscous, or Italian pepe-style pasta)
1 small cinnamon stick
1 large or 2 small preserved lemons

I am a big fan of any number of "middle eastern salads" - lettuce-less salads which go by different names (with slightly different twists) in a variety of middle eastern and mediterranean cuisines. Yes, there is a difference between a fattoush salad and a shirazi salad, but frankly, I find that what I want is the same basic recipe with a few optional modifications, depending on how the dish will fit into the week's menu.

The basic vegetable components of the salad are:
Diced tomatoes (or halved cherry tomatoes)

I modified a Bon Appetit recipe, and it was delicious. The original recipe called for quinoa, but only having wheat berries in the pantry, I substituted. And frankly, I think the wheat berries were better because they provided more texture and toothsome-ness that quinoa would have. The only other change I made was dropping the dill. I don't particularly like it, and even though Jon does, I made it when he wasn't home!

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

I tweaked a Bon Appetit recipe and it was pretty good!

Ingredients

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Audrey whipped this up to go with grilled or pan-seared salmon. It was easy and delicious!

For the salsa fresca:
2 parts cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 part rough chopped kalamata olives
1 part diced red onions
1 part feta, crumbled
lemon juice
olive oil (if possible, from a jar of sundried tomatoes)
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the salmon:
Wash and thoroughly dry the fillet.
Season the flesh side with salt and pepper, a dash of smoke salt, garlic powder, lemon pepper, and a dash of herbs de Provence

Heat grapeseed (or other, high-heat) oil in a skillet

Delicious and easy ... if you can find fresh chick peas (garbanzo beans).

2 cups fresh garbanzo beans, washed
olive oil to coat pan
pat butter (if desired, for flavor)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water

Heat oil and butter in sautee pan. Add garbanzo beans in a single layer. Add water and lemon juice. Cover. Cook about 4 minutes, or until undersides of bean start to brown and burn. Only shake side to side while cooking.

Pour into a bowl (with oil/juices) and serve. Eat sort of like edamame. Lick fingers.

Growing up, I was exposed to much delicious Persian food (owing to the large Iranian population in LA). One of my favorite dishes is Zereshk Polo - basmati rice with barberries and sometimes other dried fruits and nuts. I started with zereshk polo and added other ingredients commonly found in jeweled rice, ending up in a hybrid recipe of sorts.

Adapted from this recipe. Makes enough rice to serve 4.

We really enjoy the vegetarian dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice and other sundies) from Eastern Market, and so we thought we'd try and make them ourselves. We found grape leaves in brine at the supermarket and went from there. While I do enjoy cooking "projects," I have to admit that this one is pretty labor intensive. It's delicious, but undertake with caution.

I cobbled together the recipe from online sources.

Makes about 40 dolmades.

Garides (Shrimp) Saganaki is one of Audrey's favorite dishes (though no longer on the menu) at Zaytinya, one of her favorite restaurants in DC. This recipe is a surprisingly easy replica of that dish. It's fast and can be made mostly with ingredients we already have in our kitchen.

... or you could just buy falafel mix and add water. We didn't actually follow this recipe, but it looks good.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/falafelrecipe.htm

This was a very yummy grilled lamb recipes. The lamb were tender and the mint glaze was excellent on top.

Adapted from a blog that apparently isn't public anymore.

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.

A good mediterranean fish dish, but could easily sub out the halibut.

Via Epicurious: "After he went on the Blue Voyage, Boston chef Chris Schlesinger came up with the idea for this recipe, which brings together many of the characteristic flavors of Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Halibut works best, but you can use any mild, firm-fleshed white fish"

For Halibut:
4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) pieces skinless halibut fillet (about 6 ounces each)
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup shelled pistachios (preferably Turkish), finely chopped
3 tablespoons cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper