Middle Eastern recipes
Easy Middle Eastern Recipes: Hummus, Falafel and Fattoush
Middle Eastern home cooking gets a lot from a short list of staples: chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil, cumin and generous handfuls of parsley and mint. Sumac and pomegranate molasses give salads a sour, fruity edge, and many everyday dishes are built on legumes, vegetables and eggs rather than meat.
These recipes are planned for an ordinary kitchen. Hummus starts with canned chickpeas simmered with baking soda so it blends extra silky, while the falafel uses dried chickpeas soaked ahead and cooks in the air fryer instead of a pot of oil. Fattoush and North African shakshuka are each ready in 30 minutes. Quinoa-stuffed eggplant with garlic yogurt makes a vegetarian main, and the red lentil soup needs only 15 minutes of prep before the slow cooker takes over.
6 recipes · Updated
Quick answer
Savour's Middle Eastern recipes include classic hummus, fattoush salad with sumac pita chips and North African shakshuka, each ready in 30 minutes. Quinoa-stuffed eggplant with garlic yogurt takes an hour. Air fryer falafel needs dried chickpeas soaked for at least 12 hours, then about 36 minutes of prep and cooking, and slow cooker red lentil soup takes 15 minutes of prep before 6 to 7 hours on low.
- Recipes
- 6
- Average total time
- 3 hrs 39 mins
- Quickest
- Fattoush Salad (30 mins)
- Rated Easy
- 4 of 6
- Average calories
- 308 per serving
- Newest
- Air Fryer Falafel
All Middle Eastern Recipes (6)
Frequently Asked Questions
What pantry staples do I need for Middle Eastern cooking?
Start with canned and dried chickpeas, tahini, lemons, garlic, olive oil and ground cumin, the base of the hummus, the falafel and its tahini sauce. Add ground sumac and pomegranate molasses for fattoush, smoked paprika for the shakshuka, stuffed eggplant and lentil soup, and red lentils, which need no soaking. Fresh parsley, mint and cilantro appear in most of the dishes.
Can I use canned chickpeas for falafel?
No. Falafel needs dried chickpeas soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours; canned chickpeas are too soft and wet and fall apart in the air fryer. Canned chickpeas are right for hummus, though. Simmering them with 1/2 tsp baking soda for 15-20 minutes softens them so the hummus blends very smooth.
Which Middle Eastern recipes are vegan or gluten-free?
Classic hummus, fattoush salad, air fryer falafel and slow cooker red lentil soup are vegan, and shakshuka and the quinoa-stuffed eggplant are vegetarian. Hummus, shakshuka, the stuffed eggplant, the lentil soup and the falafel are gluten-free; fattoush is not, because of the pita. Check the pita label if you need fattoush vegan, since some brands add milk or honey, and use chickpea flour labelled gluten-free in the falafel for anyone with celiac disease.
Which Middle Eastern recipes can I make ahead?
The red lentil soup keeps for 5 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer, and hummus keeps for 4 days under a thin layer of olive oil. Freeze shaped, uncooked falafel for up to 3 months and air fry them from frozen, adding 3-4 minutes. Shakshuka sauce keeps for 4 days, so you only need to crack in fresh eggs, and the stuffed eggplant filling can be made 2 days ahead.