Ingredients for Stuffing

• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 2 big tomatoes, thinly chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup cilantro, diced
• 1/2 cup mint
• a hint of cinnamon
• a hint of salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz grape leaves
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into round pieces.

• In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for stuffing.
• Open the jar of grape leaves and take out a bunch.
• Carefully separate the leaves from one another.
• Prepare the first one to stuff by placing it on a hard surface stem-side-up and cutting its stem if it has one.
• Take a spoonful (tablespoon) of stuffing and place it in the middle of the leaf.
• Take the two bottom edges (near the stem) and fold them towards the center. Do the same for the right and left edges.
• Now roll the leaf up until it sandwiches the stuffing inside.
• Meanwhile pour the 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil into a pot
• Place the potatoes in one or two layers.
• Start placing the stuffed grape leaves tightly next to each other on top of the potatoes.
• Add 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of lemon juice on top of the stuffed grape leaves.
• Place a heavy plate inside the pot on top of the stuffed grape leaves so they do not get displaced while being cooked.
• Bring the liquid to a boil and once it boils, cook on a low fire for one hour. (If your plate is covering most of the pot's diameter, you don't have to cover the top).
• Turn off the heat and let it cool. When completely cooled, turn the pot upside down onto a large plate with the potatoes now on top decorating the stuffed grape leaves.
• Serve cold.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb of fresh green beans
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• lemon juice to taste
• salt to taste

• Cut the green beans in half, at an angle, while removing any threads that can be peeled off their sides. Cut off and dispose of their heads.
• Add some olive oil to the base of a large pot.
• Add the sliced onions, peeled garlic and green beans and apply a low heat for a few minutes.
• Add water till the contents of the pot are barely covered.
• Wait till it begins to simmer.
• Add the tomato sauce and the tomatoes and cook everything over a low heat for two hours.
• Scoop into plates, adding lemon juice and salt to taste. Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1 lb of okra
• 1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

• Place the tomatoes, garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, paprika, black pepper and salt in a pot and mix. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for half an hour.
• In parallel, fry the okra in the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large flat pot stirring occasionally until the okra darkens a little (and the viscous stuff disappears, in case you started out with fresh okra from a vegetable stand) for around 10 minutes.
• Pour the tomato and garbanzo beans mixture over the okra and cook for an hour over a low heat.
• Let cool for ten minutes and serve over a bed of rice. Serves 5.

Ingredients

• 1 can of Mulokhia
• 2 cups of Basmati Rice
• 1 White Arabic Pita Bread
• 1 cup of vinegar
• 1.5 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1 big white onion
• 5 cloves of garlic

• Fry the garlic and the cilantro with some olive oil.
• Empty the contents of the Mulokhia can into a pan and add to them the garlic-cilantro mix. Heat on low fire for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Slice the onion into small pieces and in a small bowl mix it with the vinegar.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and toast one pita bread.
• On the side cook the rice.
• To serve, first add the rice into a plate, followed by the Mulokhia and cover the two with the onion-vinegar mix and the toasted bread.
• If desired, you may cook meat or chicken on the side and add to the Mulokhia mix.

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 3 large potatoes
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1 medium-sized onion, chopped
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

• Mix beef, onion, parsley, salt and pepper thoroughly with your hands.
• Spread in a medium-sized, flat-bed, oven-safe glass tray.
• Peel potatoes and slice horizontally and lay over the meat spread.
• Lay sliced tomato over the potatoes.
• Dilute tomato sauce in two cups of water and pour over the spread.
• Put in oven for one and a half hours at 375 degrees.
• Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of burghul #1
• 1 1/4 lb of ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• salt to taste

• Soak the burghul in 2 tablespoon of water for 10 minutes.
• Mix 1 lb of the beef and the burghul together, constantly pressing the meat. Keep some cold water on the side and wet your fingers constantly to properly press and mix the two together.
• Divide the mixture in half.
• Mix the remaining 1/4 lb of beef with the onion and mix in the salt, pepper and pine nuts to form the stuffing.
• Place some oil in a frying pan and heat the stuffing in it for half an hour over a low heat.
• Spread half the meat in a pyrex, then layer the stuffing over it, finally spreading the other half of the meat on top.
• Place in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Serves 10.
• When serving, you may optionally top with either yoghurt or lemon juice.
• You may optionally serve with a side of cucumber yoghurt salad or turnip salad.

Squash is typically stuffed with rice and meat. This is the vegetarian version of that dish. It includes, not only stuffing squash, but also green peppers, eggplants and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 5 squash
• 2 green peppers
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 large eggplant


• 2 cups of rice
• 1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon of ground mint
• 1 teaspoon of Vegeta seasoning
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• 1 teaspoon of salt

First, prepare the stuffing.

• Finely chop four cloves of garlic.
• Fry the onions and four cloves of garlic in a pan over a little olive oil for five minutes, adding the salt. Set aside.
• Place the rice in a bowl and add the onion-garlic-salt mix, lemon, olive oil, paprika and seasoning.
• Drain the garbanzo beans and add to the stuffing, mixing everyting together thoroughly.

Then, prepare the vegetables.

• Chop off the top of the squash, green peppers and tomatoes. Cut the eggplant in half. Scoop out the interior of all four types of vegetables.
• Stuff the stuffing mix into each vegetable filling them to half a centimeter from the top.
• Place upright in a large pot.
• Separately mix the tomato sauce with as much water and pour into the pot between the vegetables.
• Drop in the 6 remaining garlic cloves into the gaps between the vegetables.
• Sprinkle the mint on top of everything.
• Cook over low heat for almost two hours. Serves 8.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 14 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 7 garlic cloves
• 1/2 can of tomato sauce
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

• Peel the garlic and cut each clove in half.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the base of a large pot.
• Then, over the oil, layer half the indicated quantities of the following vegetables from bottom to top in this order: eggplants, onions, potatoes and tomatoes.
• At this stage, spread 1/2 the garbanzo beans and half the garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and sprinkle some salt and pepper.
• Now layer the second half of the vegetables again in the same order from bottom to top: eggplants, onions, potatoes and tomatoes.
• Add the remaining garbanzo beans, garlic and olive oil.
• On top of everything, pour the tomato sauce.
• Place over low heat for almost an hour and fifteen minutes until everything is thoroughly cooked.
• Serve either hot or cold. If hot, serve over a bed of rice. Makes 5 dishes.
• This dish may optionally be prepared with 1 sliced green pepper and 1 sliced red pepper added to the vegetable layers.