The Mediterranean Vegan

Mujaddara is a popular dish throughout Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. It can be made with groats, wheat or rice and its two variants include yellow mujaddara (red lentils) or brown mujaddara (green lentils). Serves 4 What you need: 1 cup lentils, uncooked 6 cups water 1 1/2 cups white rice 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp five spice powder 6 tbsp vegetable oil 2 yellow onions, chopped fresh parsley In a deep pan, add the lentils and the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for around 20 minutes and then add the rice and the spices. Simmer for another 20 minutes. You may need to add more water depending on how fast it evaporates. Taste the rice while cooking and add more water if necessary. In a separate pan, fry the onions in the vegetable oil until the onion becomes brown. Serve the mujaddara and garnish with the fried onions and a pinch of fresh parsley.

I tried this salad a few nights ago at the Casa Palestina here in Barcelona for a friend's birthday. It's incredibly easy to make and delicious! It is eaten in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria and was created to make use of stale pita bread by frying it and combining it with seasonal vegetables. Serves 3-4 What you need: for the fattoush 2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2 onion, diced 1/2 red pepper, diced 2 tomatoes, diced 10 black olives, sliced 2 cups lettuce or spinach 1 tsp mint 2 tbsp parsley 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 pita breads for the hummus 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans 1.5 tbsp tahini 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 cup water 1.5 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt For the salad, you can choose to fry or toast the pita bread (I recommend frying). Cut or tear the pita bread into pieces and fry in olive oil for around 1-2 minutes or until crispy. Strain the pita pieces in a colander or on a paper towel to remove excess...