Three Weeknight-Friendly Middle Eastern Dishes

My approach to cooking is to use the vibrant flavours and ingredients of Middle Eastern cuisine but adapt them for the busy home cook. I love the methods of cooking that were used to create the Iraqi dishes I grew up eating, but sometimes there are ways to make things lighter or easier—by, say, roasting vegetables instead of frying them or creating a one-pot version of a dish.

The Middle East doesn’t have just one cuisine; I love to showcase how varied the food can be by sharing my favourite dishes from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Libya, Turkey, Yemen and Iran. I love to experiment and develop recipes that aren’t necessarily Middle Eastern but use ingredients from the region. It’s Middle Eastern, my way—which is on full display in my new cookbook, From Souk to Table. Here are three recipes from the book to give you a taste of what I'm talking about.

Olive Oil-Braised Green Beans

This vegetarian main dish is made with green beans, long beans or flat Romano beans and is common across Levantine countries. It can also be served as a cold appetizer. The simplicity of this dish is what makes it special. Get this braised green beans recipe.

Bulgur Salad

Bulgur is a common grain in Iraq and across the Middle East and is often used in a pilaf as a replacement for rice. Since it’s hard to mess up and holds up well to moisture, it’s perfect for salads. Get this bulgur salad recipe.

One-Pot Harissa Chicken and Rice

I cook a lot of chicken and rice at home, and this is one of the ways I like to change it up. I use two condiments I typically have on hand: Tunisian harissa and toum. It’s a quick, weeknight- friendly favourite. Get this harissa chicken and rice recipe.

Recipes and images excerpted from Souk to Table by Amina Al-Saigh. Published by Rock Point, an imprint of the Quarto Group, 2024. All rights reserved.