5 Ingredients or Fewer

I was given this recipe by a lovely Cypriot. I had never come across it before. It can be made with all kinds of mushrooms. I used shiitake with a Cabernet Sauvignon and found them delicious except that the stalks remained chewy, so cut those off if you use them.

This is a Turkish way of dressing beets.

Leeks are especially popular in Egypt.

You can find tamarind paste in Oriental stores. It gives the onions a delicious, intense sweet-and-sour taste.

For this Tunisian salad, use old carrots and mealy potatoes.

Mushrooms are not common in the Middle East but you do find them—in Cyprus, for instance.

This simple and delightful North African salad is easy to make with the frozen artichoke bottoms obtainable from Middle Eastern stores.

Use mealy potatoes for this Tunisian salad, which is served as an appetizer and also as an accompaniment to grilled fish.

Okra is one of the most popular vegetables in the Arab world.

For this Arab and Turkish way of serving zucchini, the vegetables may be deep-fried, grilled, or broiled.

If you want to use fresh baby artichokes, see instructions for preparing the hearts on page 282.

Every country in the Middle East has a roast-pepper-and-tomato combination. This is an Egyptian one.

Another Moroccan orange salad. Argan is the preferred oil for it in Morocco, but you could also try hazelnut, walnut, or sesame oil.

A rustic Lebanese salad.

The fragrance of mint goes well with cucumber.

The salad is made in the Lebanese mountain villages with a fermented goat cheese, but you can use a strong, crumbly goat cheese.

This strong-tasting Egyptian salad made with feta cheese is good with ful medames (page 328).

You need good feta cheese for this. Serve with pita bread to dip in.