Ground Lamb

This dish is complex and requires time, but it has dramatic appeal and it is quite delicious with layers of different textures and flavors. I like to add two ingredients that are optional: pomegranate molasses (see page 7), which gives a brown color and sweet-and-sour flavor to the tomato sauce, and tahini (see page 7), which gives a nutty flavor to the yogurt. Look for small eggplants, 4 to 4 1/4 inches long, which can usually be found in Middle Eastern and Asian stores.

The dough given here is one of a variety used to make the famous Arab “pizzas” variously called lahma bi ajeen and sfiha. It contains yogurt and olive oil and is soft and moist. Small pizzas make good finger food; large ones make an excellent snack. They can be made in advance and reheated. Do also try the different toppings given in the variations below.

This is truly exquisite. Quinces are now available for quite a long period in Middle Eastern and Asian stores. In this recipe, the fruits are stuffed with a meat filling and served hot. Quinces are hard and take a long time to cook in the oven before you can cut them up and stuff them, but you can do this in advance—even the day before. I used very large quinces because those were the ones available at the time, but you can use 4 smaller ones, in which case the baking time will be less. Serve hot with rice pilaf (page 193) or rice with chickpeas (Variation page 193).

These eggplants stuffed with ground meat—their name, karniyarik, means “slashed belly”—are served as a hot main dish with rice pilaf (page 193). Use a good-quality tomato juice.

This is a mainstay of Turkish kebab houses, where it is often dramatically served in a dish with a dome-shaped copper lid, the type that was once used at the sultan’s palace. I serve it in a large, round, clay dish, which can be warmed in the oven. This is a multilayered extravaganza. There is toasted pita bread at the bottom with tomato sauce poured over. This is topped with yogurt and sprinkled with fried pine nuts. Grilled ground meat kebabs or shish kebab (see above), or both, are laid on top. It requires organization and must be assembled at the last minute as the pita should remain a little crisp. The tomato sauce and meat should be very hot while the yogurt should be at room temperature.

These individual pies are tasty, elegant, and very easy to prepare. They make a perfect light meal, accompanied by a salad.

In Morocco, men are masters of the fire, in charge of the brochettes, the small kebabs threaded on little wood or metal skewers, which are traditional street food. The ground meat kebabs are deliciously aromatic—full of fresh herbs and spices. The meat is usually pressed around skewers and cooked over dying embers, but it is easier simply to pat the meat into sausage or burger shapes and cook them under the broiler or on a griddle. There should be a good amount of fat (it melts away under the fierce heat), enough to keep the meat moist and soft. Otherwise, work 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil into the paste. Bite-size keftas can be served as appetizers at a party, but en famille burger-size ones, accompanied by a salad, represent a main dish.

In Morocco, these briwat bil kefta are made with warka (see page 29) and deep-fried, but it is not only much easier to use fillo and to bake them, but the result is very good. See the note on fillo on page 9. I used sheets measuring about 6 inches × 12 inches. It is very good finger food to serve at a party.

While flipping through an Australian food magazine, my eyes were drawn to the appetizing green sauce in a photo of Indian-style meatballs. I am one of those people who do not rate cilantro as my favorite herb, but when I developed this dish to replicate the recipe at home, the sauce proved as delicious as it was attractive. Cook some basmati rice to serve with the meatballs.

Treat this recipe as a basic template from which to have a blast mixing and matching different meats with different cheeses. The Parmesan is a must and not an option to switch out; it's the magic ingredient that will make the meat more savory and any cheese you stuff in your slider taste cheesier.
The recipe can be halved or doubled easily, so if there are a lot of kids in your crowd, you might want to cut back on the number you make. If a bunch of your drinking buddies are on their way over, however, you'll likely want to do 1 1/2 times the recipe, or even double it.
We've given you suggestions for toppers and meat-and-cheese combinations, but those are just ideas to get your imagination going. If the weather is cooperative, fire up your grill, but if you are grill-less, the broiler does a fine job. Any which way you do it, you can't help but have fun!

These pizzas are inspired by a traditional dish served in Middle Eastern restaurants. They are an ideal way to introduce a new protein and flavor to your children, who are bound to eat them if you call them pizzas.

This multi-culti recipe brings a moroccan flavor (the spice blend ras-el-hanout) to pastitsio, the classic Greek pasta dish.

Home turf: Ohio
Local flavor: Spaghetti topped with chili: It's as simple (and as bizarrely satisfying) as that. This combo has inspired some 200 chili parlors in the Cincinnati area. What sets it apart? It's thinner than your average chili and is packed with aromatic spices (allspice, cinnamon)—and a touch of chocolate. *Beef is the protein of choice, but we've gone with lamb here, which is amazing with the spice blend.
Make it a meal: garlic bread, salad with ranch dressing, and Samuel Adams black lager ($8 per six-pack).

One advantage to being married to a Lebanese man is that the food of his people is fantastic. I've never been able to perfectly replicate a single dish my mother–in–law makes until now: mahshi batinjaan, which my husband despises due to a lifelong aversion to eggplant. But ask yourself: How could he possibly resist this dish's charm? Once you slice through the silky flesh to reveal a fragrantly seasoned lamb and rice stuffing, this deceptively simple one–dish dinner is absolutely luscious and satisfying. (Editors' note: This recipe is solely the creation of Melissa Roberts and has not been formally tested by the test kitchen.)

The Middle East on a flatbread: Turkish meatballs, a tahini-spiked yogurt sauce, and muhammara, a Syrian red pepper spread.

Pasta in the Greek style, with an added surprise: parsnips.

Shake up your casserole rotation with a Greek pastitsio. Layers of ziti, meaty tomato sauce fragrant with spices, and silky béchamel come together in this deeply satisfying yet simple meal.

Okay, so maybe they're more like footballs. You can serve this Mediterranean-influenced dish with a dipping sauce made with Greek yogurt (about a cup), 1 diced cucumber, and a pinch each of parsley, cumin, and salt.