Middle Eastern Recipes

Middle Eastern food, whether in restaurants or cooked at home, is now one of the UK’s most favoured cuisines – but this wasn’t always the way. Restaurants serving American, French and Italian cuisine, for example, spread to the UK way before Middle Eastern ones did. The first handful of Middle Eastern restaurants can be traced back to London, which also specialised in Lebanese and Turkish foods. Once Brits got a taste of the distinctive and unmissable Middle Eastern recipes, demand grew and led to a nationwide boom – which is continuing to snowball to this day. If you’ve never tried Middle Eastern food, here’s what you can expect:

Breakfasts:

Labneh, a strained yoghurt served with olive oil, herbs and vegetables, eaten with bread or as a dip, is a popular Middle Eastern breakfast. Additionally, shakshuka, poached eggs in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce, often served with bread, is a common breakfast dish.

Lunches and dinners:

• Shawarma: Hugely popular in Middle Eastern restaurants, shawarma is thinly sliced meat (usually lamb, chicken, or beef) wrapped in pita bread, usually accompanied by vegetables and tahini sauce.
• Kofta: Ground meat, mixed with spices and herbs, shaped into balls or patties, and grilled or baked, served with rice, bread or salad. Take a look at our herby lamb koftas on garlic naans here.
• Moussaka: Layers of aubergine, potato and minced meat (usually lamb or beef), baked with a tomato sauce and topped with cheese or béchamel sauce.

Sweets and desserts:

Baklava, halva and various pastries like knafeh and ma'amoul, often made with honey, nuts, and filo pastry, are popular sweet treats in Middle Eastern cuisine.