Other Side of the Mediterranean

In scanning the globe for regional fare that I am completely unfamiliar with and can actually recreate within my means, I came across a couple of interesting Lebanese recipes. I know next to nothing about Lebanon and even less about their cuisine, so I figured this would be a perfect region to choose. Some of the recipes involved cooked yogurt, which looked interesting, and I'll likely try at a later date. However, since I really don't know whether I'd be doing anything right or not, I started with something simple.

Ever since making the French Onion Soup I've been tossing around recipes with caramelized onions. Well, M’jadrah, a Lebanese rice and lentil dish tastes basically like the French onion soup of the starch community. It has a simple but potent flavor that is very satisfying, both hot and cold. I imagine it would be pretty underwhelming just cooked in water, so I added vegetable stock since I figured it'd go better with the onions. I can only assume that I was right.

On top of that I laid a few Lebanese Chicken Skewers. Again with the paprika, I imagine they'd be better if I had waited for the good stuff. They were spicy with a lemon garlic flavor with a pleasant lingering aftertaste that seemed more worthwhile than the actual chicken itself. Perhaps that has something to do with my somewhat rushed marinating time. As far as I know, no one's ever gone wrong with lemon and garlic, so the Lebanese at least know not to mess with a good thing.