Levantine

The best homemade hummus starts with an unexpected ingredient: ice cubes.

You’ll want to eat this smoky, sweet, and tangy red pepper–walnut dip with everything.

The hands-off process of straining yogurt overnight yields labneh, a thicker, creamy spread you’ll use in everything from dips to dressings.

This speedy skillet dinner flavored with harissa and tahini makes the most of ground beef and pita chips.

Grilled steak, fresh corn, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy pita chips come together for a summer-flavor party in your mouth.

All the flavors of meaty Afghan mantu in a streamlined pasta dish.

Shawarma-style roast chicken at home? You deserve it. No rotisserie required.

Blooming the spices—i.e., warming them in oil until they’re fragrant—awakens them and brings out a toasty flavor.

This version of the Levantine breakfast dish, known as fatteh hummus, is all about the contrast of textures and flavors: crunchy pita chips, creamy chickpeas, and tart yogurt.

This Levantine-inspired leg of lamb recipe from the duo behind L.A.’s buzzy restaurant Animal makes for an impressive, and festive, centerpiece. The Flintstonian-sized bone lends flavor as the meat braises, but if you prefer, a boneless tied leg of lamb is a little more manageable and cooks more quickly.

Use whatever type of eggplant looks most appealing at the market; they should be firm to the touch, with glossy skin. Small globe eggplants are easy to find, but this is also a terrific time to use long Asian types, small round white ones, or any of the cool-looking striped varieties.

Be patient: The goal is to char the eggplants beyond recognition.

Zucchini may not be the most loved vegetable, but when shallow-fried into patties, even kids will go crazy for them.

Part of what makes this salad so great is the dynamic textures; the cracker-like baked lavash croutons and the crunchy cucumbers and radishes contrast with the creamy feta and soft herbs.

This quick-cooking version of the street-food favorite features chicken that is crisp on the outside yet moist and juicy on the inside.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Rawia Bishara's Brussels Sprouts with Panko . Tahini sauce, a smooth blend of toasted sesame paste, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern kitchens. It is the condiment. There is hardly a dish that isn't enhanced by it—drizzled on Falafel sandwiches and over Brussels Sprouts with Panko; blended with pureed chickpeas for Hummus and with charred eggplant for Baba Ghanouj. My favorite Whole Fried Fish is served with this sauce mixed with parsley. At Tanoreen, I mix it into salad dressings and drizzle it into cauliflower casseroles. My daughter? She dips French fries into it! Learn to make this and you will have a simple, delicious, versatile sauce to add to your repertoire.

GOOD TO KNOW Because they contain more fat than leaner breast meat, chicken thighs are good candidates for grilling: They stay tender and juicy after cooking.

To balance the red-wine vinegar and capers in this blend of smoky eggplant and red peppers, anchovies perfume the relish with a deep, savory note. Though this is a natural accompaniment to the zucchini latkes, it also makes a lively option for the potato ones.

In Turkish cookery there's a distinctive group of dishes known as güveç, which take their name from the earthenware pot in which they are cooked—in the same way that the tagine does in Morocco. In rural Anatolia the cooking pots may be sealed and buried in the ashes of a fire to cook slowly overnight—or, only slightly less romantically, in the local baker's oven. If you don't have a clay pot, a heavy-based cast-iron casserole dish will serve almost as well. Güveç dishes encompass all sorts of meat or poultry cooked with legumes, vegetables and fruits. My addition of star anise is not remotely Turkish, but it adds a wonderful layer of aniseed flavor. This güveç is spicy with a lingering sweetness, so serve it with a light salad or braised wild greens. A dollop of yogurt would also be delicious. Sucuk is a spicy Turkish sausage and can be found in Turkish or Middle Eastern butchers and some specialist delis.

This tangy, fresh yogurt "cheese" -known as labaneh- vies for attention with hummus and tahini on the standard Israeli platter of mezze, or appetizers. Here it's seasoned with sesame seeds and spices, and drizzled with olive oil. Plan to start this the day before serving.