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34 stories for“herbs”
Iran's unofficial national dish layers fresh herbs, kidney beans, and dried limes into a deeply aromatic stew. Serve it over saffron rice for pure comfort with complexity.
Jan 8, 2025
The same word means a wild hillside herb and the sesame-and-sumac mixture made from it. Knowing which one a recipe means is the difference between a good jar and a disappointing one.
Aug 13, 2026
The belief that carrot greens are toxic is remarkably widespread and has no scientific basis. They are a bitter, parsley-like herb, they make an excellent chermoula, and the alkaloid argument applies equally to spinach.
Sep 4, 2026
The most popular Ayurvedic herb in the world looks reassuring in clinical trials and much less so in hepatology case series. A systematic review has identified thirty-seven cases of ashwagandha-associated liver injury.
Sep 4, 2026
The real Lebanese tabbouleh is parsley, not bulgur. Learn the hand-chopping technique and why resting time makes this salad sing.
Jan 10, 2024
A Levantine spice blend and a Mexican corn tortilla share no history at all. What they share is a logic, and that turns out to be entirely enough to build on.
Aug 2, 2026
Most of the Levantine repertoire was already meatless, because meat was expensive and fasting traditions are old. These are dishes designed to be eaten without meat, not adapted to be.
Aug 14, 2026
Real falafel starts with dried chickpeas, soaked but never cooked. The difference between homemade and store-bought is the crispy exterior and light, fluffy center that only proper technique delivers.
Mar 18, 2024
A Turkish breakfast classic that transforms simple vegetables and eggs into something aromatic and deeply satisfying. Gentle heat and fresh herbs make this one-pan dish shine.
Sep 25, 2024
The version most of the world eats is the Levantine one, and it is a revision. Egypt still makes it the older way, with fava beans, under a different name. The argument about who owns it is genuinely political.
Aug 21, 2026
A three thousand year old medical system with real insights about routine, diet and constitution also has a documented contamination problem. Two studies published in JAMA found heavy metals in about a fifth of the Ayurvedic products they tested.
Sep 4, 2026
Without the rotating spit, home cooks still achieve restaurant-quality shawarma through high-heat roasting and a broil finish. Marinated, caramelized, and sliceable, it's worthy of your best pita.
Apr 20, 2025
Tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little grain in it, not the other way round. That makes it one of the easiest Levantine dishes to take gluten free, provided you pick the right grain.
Aug 11, 2026
Thomas Keller's refined ratatouille: precision-sliced vegetables arranged accordion-style and baked slowly until they confit together in perfect harmony.
Apr 15, 2025
Tender grape leaves stuffed with spiced rice and beef, then simmered in a lemony broth. A patient dish that rewards slow cooking and care.
Jan 30, 2025
The technique that separates biryani from a rice dish with chicken in it is parboiling: the rice is boiled to roughly seventy per cent, drained, then layered over the marinated chicken and finished in its own steam so every grain stays separate.
Sep 2, 2026
Dough pressed flat with the fingertips, spread with za'atar loosened in olive oil, baked hot and fast. The Levantine breakfast that a whole region eats standing up.
Aug 13, 2026
Mashed chickpeas replace fish in this quick, protein-packed salad. Tangy, crunchy, and ready in under 10 minutes for lunch.
Jan 12, 2024
Master the technique behind Rome's most elegant pasta: just spaghetti, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper emulsified into silky perfection. No cream needed.
Sep 5, 2023
Clarified butter cooked a little further until the milk solids brown. It keeps for months without refrigeration, has a smoke point around 250C, and is the one Ayurvedic staple whose usefulness needs no theory at all.
Sep 4, 2026
Two sesame pastes from opposite ends of Asia turn out to want the same thing. A Japanese temple-festival glaze, loosened with tahini and finished with pomegranate.
Jul 26, 2026
Golden-fried potato cubes tossed with garlic, cilantro, and warm spices in this beloved Lebanese street food and mezze staple.
Mar 8, 2024
Detoxification is a genuine medical process and a genuine biochemical one. Neither has anything to do with juice cleanses, foot pads or teas, and the marketing depends on never naming which toxin is being removed.
Sep 4, 2026
Charred eggplant blended with tahini, garlic, and lemon creates this silky Lebanese dip with a distinctly smoky depth.
Sep 14, 2024
The hardest part of eating low FODMAP is that onion and garlic start almost every savoury dish on earth. Infused oil solves it, because the troublesome part does not dissolve in fat.
Aug 12, 2026
Not a single cuisine but several, split between coast, hills and desert. What defines it, which dishes matter, and why so much of it is built on olive oil, wheat and the seasons.
Aug 9, 2026
Paprika for colour, cinnamon and allspice for warmth, garlic for everything else. The blend is small, the quantities are smaller than people expect, and one spice is doing a job you cannot taste.
Aug 14, 2026
PREDIMED tested a Mediterranean diet with added olive oil or nuts against low-fat advice. Diabetes incidence was 6.9 per cent with olive oil against 8.8 per cent on the low-fat arm, and the follow-up trial did considerably better.
Aug 15, 2026
Fusion earns its name when two traditions are solving the same problem. Miso and tahini both exist to carry savoury depth into vegetables, and roasted aubergine is the dish where putting them together stops being a novelty.
Sep 4, 2026
WHO sets a 5 gram salt ceiling; the Gulf's average intake runs far above it, driven largely by bread and processed food.
Jan 16, 2025
Cold-pressed juice bars, Armenian-Lebanese plant plates, and a vegan bakery in Ar Rawdah: how Riyadh and Jeddah are building a real vegan dining map.
Oct 2, 2025
A vegan bakery in Janabiyah, a Four Seasons tasting menu backed by a Saudi prince, and Muscat's coconut-bowl breakfast spot: the region's quieter vegan scene.
May 27, 2026
Saudi Arabia's national dish combines tender lamb with fragrant basmati rice and a warm spice blend. Toasted nuts and raisins add sweetness and crunch to this show-stopping one-pot meal.
Nov 22, 2023
A dish built to use up yesterday's bread, assembled in layers while everything is still hot so half the bread softens and half stays crisp. Timing is the whole technique.
Aug 15, 2026
