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middle eastern

chickpea fries with mint and sumac

by Jackie Newgent  |  February 22, 2024  |  1 Comment
Think of them as fries with a pulse! That pulse is chickpeas—so, literally, they do feature a pulse. Indulging in these chickpea fries with mint and sumac will satisfy that craving for French fries along with an extra punch of protein. The “real” name for these bites of scrumptiousness is panisse—a street food snack that’s popular in the south of France.
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fresh zhoug

by Jackie Newgent  |  February 7, 2024  |  1 Comment
Zhoug (or zhug or schug) is a Middle Eastern sauce (originally from Yemen) featuring herbs, spices, and chili peppers. I’ve been enjoying it for eons … it may be my favorite condiment of all time! This fresh zhoug is considered a hot sauce, but this version offers just a hint of heat since you’ll remove the seeds and veins (membranes) of the jalapeños or other chili peppers to allow all the other bright and earthy flavors to shine.
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mediterranean salad with sumac tahini dressing

by Jackie Newgent  |  November 18, 2019  |  1 Comment
This fall I have had the pleasure to have Leah Kern as my dietetic intern. She loves story-telling about food—and she has quite an adventurous eating style. Her default meals have a Mediterranean flair. So, I asked her to create a seasonal Mediterranean-style recipe for you. (Check out her instagram page for food and stories @foodfor_thought_.) She created this awesome salad that I’ll be sure to be making often. Here’s her story about the delightful salad—and the recipe!
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red rice & beet stuffed grape leaves

by Jackie Newgent  |  September 30, 2019  |  1 Comment
One of my favorite childhood memories is picking fresh grape leaves with my mom. And one of my all-time favorite foods is stuffed grape leaves. It’s definitely my kind of comfort food. While my Lebanese mother made grapes leaves exactly the same way every time … by taste and feel, not by recipe … I like to go rogue from time to time. That’s what I did here. I guess you can say I actually went rather rouge! Instead of a traditional plant-based version, I used red rice and snuck in some beets. Though nothing will ever replace classic stuffed grape leaves, this is definitely a fun one to serve up!
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sweet-n-salty sesame roasted chickpea snacks

by Jackie Newgent  |  February 10, 2019  |  11 Comments
I’ve been a member of the chickpea “fan club” ever since I was a kid. OK, so not really! But I guess that’s one thing that can happen when you have a Lebanese mother who was an amazing cook (and caterer)! No complaints here … my nutritionist self loves that these pulses offer plenty of protein and fiber. Though, if my mother were still around, she’d probably be a bit bewildered by all of my non-traditional chickpea concoctions. This is one of those.
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