Food Processor

You can serve these Egyptian fish balls as mezze or finger foods at a party. Use any white fish, such as cod, haddock, bream, whiting, or hake.

A North African—particularly Libyan—specialty. Algerians call the piquant sauce chetitha. The dish is not for everybody, and it is not for a delicate fish.

Tarator is the name used in different countries for sauces made with a variety of nuts. This sharp, garlicky one with pine nuts belongs to Syria and Lebanon. In Egypt it was served at grand buffet parties, where whole fish were entirely covered with it. For this simpler version you may use any white fish—fillets or steaks.

Pan-cooking with the famous marinade is the simplest and quickest way of preparing a Moroccan-style fish dish.

Although Turkey is surrounded on three sides by sea, it is not very strong on fish dishes. Seafood has not been part of the old Anatolian cooking traditions. Even in the coastal resorts, where seafood restaurants have mushroomed with the tourist trade, locals are not interested. The exceptions are Izmir and Istanbul, both famous for their fish markets and fish restaurants. The usual fare, like everywhere in the Middle East, is grilled or deep-fried fish. Swordfish kebab is a Turkish specialty, but other countries use other firm-fleshed fish, such as monkfish and tuna.

This hot, spicy, garlicky mixture is the all-purpose, ubiquitous Moroccan sauce for fish. It goes on every kind of fish—fried, grilled, baked, and stewed. It is marvelous, and I strongly recommend it, but not for a fish with a delicate flavor. Use half of it to marinate the fish in for 1/2 hour before cooking, and pour the rest on as a sauce before serving.

You have to love garlic to appreciate this most ancient of sauces.

A ubiquitous sauce in Syria and Lebanon, served with fried and grilled fish as well as with cold fish.

The butter-and-flour thickening gives this Turkish soup a creamy texture, and the traditional egg-and-lemon finish gives a delicate tartness.

With this fresh-tasting and aromatic Egyptian soup, it is best to cook the rice separately and add it just before serving, as it gets bloated and soft if it stands in the soup.

In Turkey and Egypt during the period of the Ottoman Empire, the women in the harems, the wives and concubines of the Sultans and aristocracy, were the widows and daughters captured at war. The Circassians among them were known for their beauty and their culinary skills. This classic is part of their legacy. The recipe was given by Luli Fevsi and comes from the kitchens of the old Ottoman aristocracy in Egypt. It is a cold dish which may be served as an hors d’oeuvre or as part of a buffet table.

Rolled into marble-sized balls, they make a nice appetizer.

Serve this in a bowl with plain boiled or steamed vegetables such as runner beans, zucchini, or cauliflower.

In this nutty Turkish salad with an intense flavor, the bulgur is softened in the juice of fresh tomatoes.

Chickpeas are so common in the Arab world that they could be a symbol of it. The pureed version combined with tahina has become ubiquitous in the West, but this one, without tahina, called “hummus habb” or “sada,” is nice too, if you dress it with plenty of lemon juice and olive oil.

This salad puree is the most widely known and appreciated of all outside the Middle East (abroad it is known simply as hummus). It is the constant companion of shish kebab and ta’amia in Oriental restaurants and is also good with fish or eggplants.

For this flavorful Egyptian dip, buy the split fava beans which are sold with their brown skins removed and look creamy white.

A specialty of Jehan, in southern Turkey, this is served as a dip with fried mussels or baked fish, or as an accompaniment to salads and boiled vegetables, such as runner beans or cauliflower.