Popping up on menus as Americans lean toward more adventurous cooking
Middle Eastern cuisine is enjoying an Arab spring. The flavors of lemony sumac, spicy za’atar and fragrant rose and orange-blossom waters are finding their way onto the menus of restaurants with even the most solidly American fare.
At the Crest Gastropub in the Clintonville neighborhood, house-made labneh (yogurt cheese) and kofta (Middle Eastern meatballs) as well as a lamb burger with yogurtmint sauce are sharing space with traditional American
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offerings such as beet salad, burgers and braised short ribs.
The owners, the Alshahal brothers, are Lebanon natives.
At the Tavern at the Granville Inn in Granville, executive chef Chad Lavely is offering Mediterranean nachos — crisp pitalike chips with white beans, spiced ground Ohio lamb, feta cheese, olives, cucumber, tomato and tzatziki sauce.
As he was developing new menus after the inn’s recent renovation, Lavely said, he decided to create an item with international flair. He started with a kofta-style seasoned lamb and built the dish from there.
“It was a flavor profile that I didn’t see anywhere else on our menu,” he said, “and it seemed like the missing piece — something kind of international and different.”
The nachos are going over well with customers, he said, noting that he also added Middle Eastern flavors — mint, cilantro, pine nuts and pomegranate — to the menu’s beet salad.
The move to expand the range of worldly flavors in American cooking has been on the horizon for more than five years, said chef David Wolf, senior executive chef at the Blackwell Inn at Ohio State University.
The change, he said, is being propelled by a younger generation of adventurous eaters who aren’t content with the ordinary.
“Millennials want more unique flavors,” he said.
The easiest way to add flavor is to add spices, Wolf said, and Middle Eastern spices are new, bold and palate-pleasing.
Publishing houses yield further proof of the trend.
Cookbooks released during the past six months include The Lebanese Cookbook by Hussien Dekmak, The New Mediterranean Table by Sameh Wadi, Taste of Beirut by Joumana Accad and Rose Water & Orange Blossoms by chef and food blogger Maureen Abood.
Even Southern Living’s new A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen includes recipes among its shrimp, grits and biscuits for stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh, thanks to author Matt Moore’s Lebanese grandparents — reinforcing the true scope of the growing appeal of traditional Middle Eastern food.
“Publishers have noticed that Middle Eastern cooking is a hot food trend right now,” said Ron Longe, president of Ron Longe Public Relations of New York, which promotes cookbooks.
Longe credited two earlier books — Jerusalem (2012) by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi; and Olives, Lemons & Za’atar (2014) by Rawia Bishara — for introducing Americans “to the wonderful flavors, aromas and ingredients of Middle Eastern cooking.”
“There is a simplicity to Middle Eastern cooking that is similar to Italian cooking — which makes it very accessible,” he said. “And it certainly helps that most large supermarkets now carry the ingredients and spices that just a few years ago were not widely available.”
Abood, a resident of East Lansing, Mich., and granddaughter of Lebanese immigrants, credited the enduring trend toward bolder tastes for pushing diners in the direction of Middle Eastern fare and its tart, citrusy, savory flavors.
“I think the American palate is becoming more excited about it,” she said. “They come to our labneh and yogurt, and it is something they are open to.”
Unlike the sweet, fruity yogurt cups of lunchbox fare, Lebanese yogurt is thick and tart — and usually eaten with savory dishes.
A strong U.S. military presence in the Middle East for more than 10 years, Abood said, has broadened Americans’ exposure to the cuisine.
“They spend time in the Middle East; they really enjoyed the food and come back and want to eat it here,” she said. “They are discovering that the flavors of the Middle East do make their food a lot more interesting and delicious.”
Because the food — rich with vegetables and grains — is healthful, “It’s a cuisine that people are rallying around,” Abood said.
Cinnamon, allspice and cumin are prevalent in Middle Eastern cooking, as is sumac. The bright-red spice, created from ground sumac berries, imparts a lemony flavor to salads, dressings and meats.
Waters distilled from roses and orange blossoms — common flavorings in Middle Eastern desserts — offer a unique fragrance to cookies and puddings without being cloying.
Za’atar — a blend of thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and salt — is Abood’s favorite because of its versatility.
The blend seasons meats and roasted vegetables, she said, or is sprinkled over flatbreads with olive oil.