Lebanese Cuisine

Lebanese cuisine comprises the culinary traditions and practices originating in Lebanon, favoring whole grains, fresh produce, fish and seafood, with poultry eaten more often than red meat and lamb or goat preferred when red meat is served. Garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon juice provide the cuisine's principal seasoning, chickpeas and parsley are dietary staples, and most food is grilled, baked or gently cooked in olive oil rather than butter or cream. Flatbread accompanies nearly every meal, and mezze, an array of small dishes that can number from twenty to sixty items, is a defining style of dining, featuring foods such as hummus, baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, falafel and shawarma. The cuisine reflects thousands of years of contact among Phoenician, Persian, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman civilizations, the last of which ruled Lebanon from 1516 to 1918 and introduced its own lamb cookery, while French rule until 1943 added pastries, flan and croissants, and the modern Lebanese diaspora has carried the cuisine worldwide.