Hummus isn't the only bean-based dip that's easy to make at home -- this red-lentil based spread is a vegetarian version of kibbe, a Lebanese dish that takes many forms, but always involves bulgur wheat and a mix of delicious spices.
Kibbe is often made with ground lamb or beef, but this recipe uses red lentils for the bulk of the mix, with bulgur wheat for flavor and texture, and a mix of warm, spicy, and savory Vanns Spices to make up a dip that is both addictively delicious and healthy. Serve it with pita bread or crackers for an appetizer, or with romaine lettuce leaves for a light, healthy main dish.
To Serve:
Serves 6-8 as an appetizer. Adapted from Vegan Eats World.
A fairly simple set of ingredients combines with a blend of Vanns spices to create a complex and hearty dish that your guests might not even realize is vegetarian. A perfectly poached egg on top means this dish can be enjoyed from breakfast to dinner.
There’s a small restaurant chain in Los Angeles called Zankou Chicken that is well known for its super secret chicken shawarma recipe, which is crispy and juicy and beautifully spiced and comes with a crazy-good garlic sauce that will make your breath reek for at least the next few hours if not days.
Rice bowls are starting to be a big thing these days, and there's a good reason. Take something a little saucy, something with some great texture, something with protein or some bite to it, arrange on top of rice, add the condiments of your choice, and enjoy your healthy, delicious, and filling meal!
Have you ever had Tabbouleh? No, I’m not talking about a grain salad demurely flecked with parsley, that tastes mostly of bulgur or couscous or quinoa or whatever grain someone needed to use up.
Have you ever heard of sumac? If you live in the American South, you may think of it as a weed. But hopefully after making this recipe, you will now think of it as a delicious weed.
Both of these recipes are kind of magical -- they take super simple ingredients like water, flour, butter, salt, and Vanns Smoked Spanish Paprika and turn them into beautiful, impressive golden brown focaccia and a deeply orange-red, perfectly flavored smoked paprika butter to be spread on top. It makes a great appetizer for any occasion, but be careful that your guests don’t fill themselves up on it! It’s a little bit addictive.
So, you’ve sampled every flavor of hummus available at the grocery store. Maybe you’ve even been making your own, and you’re ready for a change, a hummus that is the perfect balance between sweet and savory, and is spiced with a warm blend of flavors.
This is it, folks. This is the perfect, unexpected, amazing vegetable soup, adapted from Michael Solomonov’s beast of a cookbook Zahav. This recipe is the perfect example of his brilliant and unusual use of commonplace spices and other ingredients.
These falafel sandwiches are straight-up amazing. The falafel is flavorful, crisp, and light, so good that even by itself it’s a wonderful thing.
Juicy lamb meatballs seasoned with a Turkish spice blend make for a delicious sandwich filling or appetizer.