day 12

 

wussp everybody and welcome to a world where every bite is a

celebration, and each dish tells a story.

New day New food New country (Jordan)

1. Falafel

When I was traveling in Egypt a few years ago, some Egyptian friends of mine mentioned that some of the best falafel in the Middle East was in Jordan. And I had no reason not to believe them, but had no idea when I would ever have the chance to eat Jordanian falafel for myself. So I was more than a little thrilled to have my first taste of falafel in Jordan.

Falafel, a combination of ground chickpeas, mixed with a variety of spices, then deep fried into mini patty like shapes, is one of the most common street food snacks or light meals in Jordan. They can be eaten on their own like veggie nuggets, eaten with bread, or stuffed into sandwiches. The falafel in Jordan was indeed the best I’ve ever had, light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, with an aroma of cumin, garlic, and parsley.

2. Moutabel

Before going to Jordan I always thought of baba ghanoush when I thought of a Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip – and I loved it. But when I was in Jordan, I discovered that while baba ghanoush is available, by far the more common roasted eggplant dip available is moutabel, which is similar to baba ghanoush, but quite different. One of the main ingredient differences is that moutabel uses yoghurt in its recipe. You can read more about the differences in this well researched post.

I’ve always loved eggplant in all its forms, especially when it’s roasted over fire, to give it a wonderfully smoky taste and a smooth and creamy consistency. For moutabel, the roasted and peeled eggplant is combined with yoghurt, tahini, garlic and lemon juice.

3. Hummus

Hummus is possibly the most well known Levantine and Middle Eastern food around the world. I’ve always enjoyed hummus, but I never grew up eating hummus or eating it on a continual basis until visiting Jordan. And I Jordan I ate hummus at least 2 – 3 times per day. When I left Jordan I had hummus withdrawals. I was almost scared about where my next helping of hummus would come from.

The hummus in Jordan was fantastic, and despite containing just about the same ingredient make-up at every restaurant you order it from, it’s amazing how each version tasted just slightly different – the amount of lemon juice, and ratio of garbanzo beans to tahini, the texture, and also, very importantly, the olive oil.

4. Fattet Hummus

I had eaten plenty of hummus before ever visiting Jordan (granted some of the best hummus I ever tried was in Jordan), but I had never even heard of fattet hummus before going to Jordan. Fattet hummus is the combination of bread, which has been soaked in broth to make it completely dissolvable, mixed with hummus, tahini, and lemon juice. Most of the versions of fattet hummus I had in Jordan included regular white bread in the recipe, but you can also make it with pita type of bread.

Fattet hummus is a complete twist on regular hummus. While it has that similar garbanzo bean taste, with a hint of lemon juice and olive oil, the texture is totally different – it kind of feels like whipped hummus. It’s fluffy and airy like whipped cream, not nearly as dense or thick as regular hummus.

5. Labneh

Labneh, which is also known as strained yoghurt, is a very thick, creamy yoghurt, that’s served at just about every breakfast table in Jordan. It’s not typically eaten like a bowl of yoghurt because it’s so rich, but instead it’s used as a spread for bread, or a dip for vegetables. The taste is sour and creamy, but usually not salty, very similar to sour cream.

Labneh can be served in a bowl plain, or drizzled with olive oil, or combined with different herbs or leaves to give it more flavor. I particularly enjoyed some versions of labneh that included local herbs. I’m not sure of the name of the herb, but there was one I tried that had a mild horseradish taste, which went very well with the sour creamy labneh.

 

Thank you for joining me on this delicious journey. Until our next culinary

adventure.