10 Lebanese Mezze Dishes To Die For

After hotly contested political, social, and culinary debates, we've come up with our list of 10 favorite Lebanese Mezze platters! Enjoy, salivate, and try and create these deliciously healthy meals at your home!

1. Tabbouleh

By law, Tabbouleh should have 4 times more parsley than cracked wheat.

Sorry NY Delis your brown, grainy, and dry “Taboula” does not pass the test!

2. Fattoush

The secret to Fattoush is to sprinkle Sumac and dried Zaatar (Thyme) onto the olive oil dressing, some Lebanese recipes also use pomegranate molasses! Yes IT IS as good as it sounds!

3. Hummus

Easily one of the largest phenomena of the 21st century! Pronounced Hhhoummous and not Khoumuss, this food has long been the topic of intense political and social debate, such as:

"Do you scoop it up with bread, lettuce, or (to Lebanon's horror) Dorritos?"

OR better yet,

"Is Hummus truly Lebanese?" Advised response: It is as Lebanese as Baalbeck's Roman Ruins, Turkish Backgammon, Persian rugs, and Arabic coffee!

4. Baba Ghannouj

Ahhh…. The seductively smooth Baba Ghannouj! The trick here is to roast the eggplant until it smells like a cozy après-ski fireplace after 10 hours of hors-piste adventures.

Great Baba Ghannouj tastes as peaty and nutty as an 18-year old Laphroaig, and as refreshing as a splash of Lebanese mountain spring water (if those still exist...).

5. Kebbeh Nayyeh

Warning: Vegans/Vegetarians, contains highly carnivorous content... Discretion is advised!

Best described as tartare minus the arrogant pretension and at one tenth the price. Raw beauty in its simplist form!

6. Sambouseks

They come in three distinct shapes, each indicating a type of filling within:

1- Thick crescent shape: minced meat

2- Cigar shape: mixture of cheeses

3- Triangular shape: spinach mix

The origin of this shape-to-content standard has been lost somewhere in Lebanon's ancient history... But one thing is for sure, each one of them is like a little burst of joy!

7. Waraq Aarish or Waraq Enab

The bipolar Waraq Aarish! Constantly facing existential crises:

“Am I vegan, vegetarian, or laden with meat?”

“Am I served hot or cold?”

“Am I considered Mezze or Tabikh (Lebanese comfort-food cuisine)?”

These questions have remained unanswered for millennia!

8. Balilah

This mesmerizing and hearty dish can take up to a day and a half to prepare. But the end result is definitely worth it!

Seasoned veterans know that the trick for any great balilah dish is the heart-warming froth (or Raghweh) that comes on top of the hot chickpeas!

9. Labneh

NO!! IT’S NOT YOGHURT, IT’S NOT GREEK YOGHURT, IT’S NOT CREAM CHEESE! IT’S JUST LABNEH! TRY IT FRESH AND GET BLOWN AWAY!

10. Saj Bread

Lebanese bread is NOT the pasty, uninspiring pita "bread" you find in supermarkets. We truly pity anyone cursed with having to eat pita as an alternative.

True Mezze feasts come with freshly baked paper-thin Saj bread. The bread is cooked on the spot on top of a dome-shaped stove called a “Saj”.

The smell of the bread slowly crackling on top of the Saj is hypnotic! The taste.... Unforgettable!