Comptoir Libanais - Feasts From the Middle East

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Id like to thank Chaker Hanna my friend, brother, father, confidant and business partner. We laughed and cried together and now work hard together. He gives me the freedom to keep being creative and doing what I really love.

My assistant, Kasia, who knows me better than anyone. Huge thanks for keeping my life running smoothly, youre wonderful!

To all the teams in all our restaurants, past and present I owe it all to you, whom I consider my family. It is the labour of love of every team member that made all this all possible.

Wassim Al Sammour, for his passion, ideas and contributions to the book. He continues to help me discover new Syrian dishes and cooks some of the best Arabic food Ive ever eaten. Thanks to Mohamed Ourad, for your support. Talal Al Endari, for enormous help generating new ideas. Firas Marouf, you get into my head and make my sweet dreams reality.

Jerome Guermah, for supporting us whatever we need. Jad Youssef, for helping with the incredible Lebanese recipes. Soufiane Bennis, for allowing me into Levants kitchen when working on our book. Conrad Patterson, for your passion and love for our family, food and hospitality. Im grateful to Lesley McIlroy and Tim Warner, too.

My brothers and sister for giving me all the hassle and love siblings should. Thank you for making me want to lead by example. I must mention my brother Mehdi, for working with us tirelessly for 17 years; my sister-in-law Lynda, for your patience even when I drive you crazy and for looking after my decorations storeroom. My brother Salah, who is still recovering from his head injury, and his long-term partner Rita, the most caring woman Ive met.

Thanks to Nicola Ibison, my friend and agent, for believing in me from the start; for your guidance and telling me off when I needed it.

At HarperCollins: Rachel Kenny and Lisa Milton, whove been so patient you helped me make a book Im very proud of, and Sarah Hammond, for being the most organized person Ive ever met.

Emma Marsden, for being so patient testing all the recipes, Mary-Jane Wilkins for skilful copyediting, and Kat Mead, for helping me express my crazy journey.

To Louise McGrory, Anita Mangan, Phillipa Langley, Olivia Wardle, Rosie Ramsden and Liam Baker for bringing these recipes and everything contained within them to life with such warmth.

My friends: Tooba, for her support and putting up with me. Haleem, who drives me mad and always gets me in trouble. Jonathan, Adam and Sam Kaye, for holding our hands when it mattered. Richard Kleiner, for being an amazing advisor.

Mamdouh, Amr and the Moteia Ismail family, for always being there youve been amazing support. Haj Abdelhaq, who has helped source the best from the Marrakech souks for 19 years. Daphne and Avi Lerner, for giving me aspiration in life. Dan Lepard and David Whitehouse, for the encouragement. Ziad El Akabi, for your help; Marhoune Rougab, for running races in the desert with me. Yonatan Yigzaw, for helping me stay fit and healthy. Thanks to all my other friends who are too shy to be mentioned.

It is with enormous gratitude I thank our guests, whose love of Middle Eastern flavours grows stronger every day and without whom our family has no one to feed.

No thank you is complete without mentioning my mother, Zohra, my rock, soul and drive. Shes been with me at every step. And my father, Haj Chabane, who is no longer with us. I still miss him and wish he were here to see the results of the hard work. They gave me their blessing and the permission to dream and they supported me through it all. Thank you for continuing to inspire me every day.

Feasts are all about sharing good food with friends and family; food that you cant wait to eat and usually in my culture lots of it. The feast might be to mark an occasion or celebration, or just be cooked because its Sunday morning. It doesnt matter whether the feast is for two, ten or twenty guests, the table will always be full. At the end of the meal nothing is wasted. Any food left over becomes a gift for the guest to take home and share with their family. This is a very important part of our culture.

Traditionally all our Middle Eastern feasts are served with a selection of breads (Arabic breads, flatbreads, freshly-baked homemade breads, and so on) and always with lots of fresh mint and orange blossom tea, so please assume that these go with every meal. However, this is your feast, so use these menus as a guide for interesting flavour pairings and ideas. There really is no right or wrong, the only rule is, if you fancy it, you should definitely try it!

WEEKEND FEAST

This is a rather special selection of dishes that together make a perfect weekend feast. It needs a little preparation, so its one for when you have time to keep an eye on recipes and can enjoy the cooking as much as the event.

Hommos with Lamb & Pine Nuts (see )

Labneh Dip (see )

Spiced Potatoes (see )

Spiced Lamb Pastries (see )

Feta & Nigella Seed Falafel (see )

Palestinian Braised Spiced Chicken Pie (see )

Green Lentil & Rice Salad (see )

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Spiced Minced Lamb & Rice (see )

Pomegranate & Pistachio Cheesecake (see )

Lebanese Lemonade (see )

BRUNCH FEAST

A long, lazy brunch with friends can be just the thing at the weekend. This mixture of recipes combines savoury and sweet, hot and cold. There is plenty to share and fill you up to start the day.

Feta with Olive Oil & Zaatar (see )

Aubergine Shakshuka (see )

Sujuk Scrambled Eggs (see )

Lebanese Village Breakfast (see )

Pastries Stuffed with Feta and Halloumi (see )

Labneh & Caramelised Banana Wrap (see )

Fresh Mint & Orange Blossom Tea (see )

Comptoir Spiced Hot Chocolate with Tahina & Halva (see )

MY BIG FAT FEAST FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

As Ive already said, if I cook for family and friends you wont be able to see the table for all the wonderful food on it. With so many fabulous dishes, this menu is perfect for any big occasion or holiday, and the slow-cooked lamb is the most incredible showstopper.

Beetroot Hommos and Hommos with Lamb & Pine Nuts (see )

Broad Bean & Tahina Dip (see )

Labneh Dip (see )

Aleppo Roast Peppers & Mixed Nut Dip (see )

Chicken Livers with Cherry Tomatoes & Pomegranate Molasses (see )

Feta & Nigella Seed Falafel (see )

Pastries Stuffed with Feta & Halloumi (see )

Pumpkin & Saffron Soup (see )

Slow-cooked Shoulder of Lamb (see )

My Mum Zohras Fried Sardines (see )

Chicken & Chickpea Stew (see )

Tahina, Chocolate & Pistachio Cheesecake (see )

Crisp Filo Parcels with Cream & Rose Water (see )

Walnut & Cinnamon Honey Cigars (see )

Vanilla Citronnade (see )

SUMMER FEAST