Lebanon

Standfirst

A table covered edge to edge before the main course arrives. Manakish folded warm at seven in the morning. Arak clouding in the glass as the plates keep coming. Lebanon cooks for more guests than were invited, and always has.

Chapter One

Mezze is not a starter

A Lebanese table begins crowded. Hummus smoothed with a spoon, moutabal smoked over flame, tabbouleh that is more parsley than bulgur, fattoush sharp with sumac and fried bread, warak enab rolled tight, kibbeh nayeh eaten raw with olive oil and mint. None of it is a prelude — the mezze is the meal, and the grill is simply what happens next.

Bread is the cutlery. Torn, folded, used to scoop and then eaten. Nothing is portioned onto a private plate, and no one keeps track of who ate what.

“

In Lebanon the table is set for more people than were invited. That is not an accident — it is the plan.

— On Lebanese hospitality

Chapter Two

Coast, mountain and valley

Lebanon is small enough to cross in a morning, and the cooking changes as the land climbs. On the coast, sayadieh arrives as spiced fish over rice and samke harra carries chilli and coriander. Inland the plates turn earthier — mujadara of lentils and rice, mloukhieh stewed slow and green, shish barak folded into warm yogurt.

In the Bekaa the vines and arak stills take over: the aniseed spirit poured with water and ice, clouding white, drunk slowly across an afternoon of small plates.

The Lebanon poster — mezze, manakish zaatar, kibbeh, shawarma, knafeh, arak and ahweh drawn as one illustrated kitchen wall.

Chapter Three

Morning zaatar, midnight knafeh

Manakish folded from the bakery at seven. Shawarma carved late and wrapped tight. Knafeh eaten hot with orange blossom syrup, standing up. The Lebanon collection is made for kitchens that keep those hours.

Poster — Beirut

Poster — Byblos

Poster — Bekaa

Vol. 54 — Mezze, Zaatar and the Long Table — the pieces