Some dishes just never grow old. And some are brand new!

I’ve been making this Lebanese spiced chicken dish for over 20 years. I still remember making this for a dinner party we threw, when we moved out west to Calgary and had made new friends. I made zucchini fritters, a carrot salad and basmati rice to go with it. Funny how some meals totally stay with you. I can still picture the table in our little apartment, and how I set it. I remember the aromas coming from the oven as this chicken roasted away. And I especially remember the good friends that we shared that meal with. Even though we have been back in Toronto for 20 years now, we still keep in touch, and it feels like just last month that we were all around a table together.

Lebanese Spice Blend

Flash forward to a few years ago. A dear friend gave me a jar labelled ‘Lebanese Spice blend’. I didn’t think about it too much about it other than I knew I liked it. So I would add it to sautéeing onions being prepared for soups, I would sprinkle it into stews, on potatoes or rice, or even onto roasting carrots and other veggies. But then I finally got around to asking her what was actually in the blend. She described a blend of paprika, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. Pretty basic. And yet together they work wonderfully to add an earthy and deep kick to dishes. Then one day, I pulled out the recipe for this chicken, and realized that along with some thyme and garlic, the spices were exactly the same. No wonder I like it so much! Add those spices to bright lemon juice and garlic, and this chicken is just, Wow! And when it bakes up, it creates the most amazing mahogany hued skin!

Just like 20 years back, I serve carrots with this chicken. But instead of an African carrot salad, I make a Harissa Tunisian Roasted Carrot dish. The flavours are similar, but instead of cutting the carrots into small rounds, I like to use smaller carrots and leave them whole. After roasting in a blend of olive oil and grated garlic, they get dressed in lemon juice, harissa, caraway seeds, cumin and paprika. Bright and kicky at the same time. Seeing a trend yet? And these carrots can be served warm or at room temperature.

Lebanese Cabbage Salad

But what is the something new that I referred to at the beginning of this post? A few weeks back a friend who volunteers with me, asked if I knew how to make a Lebanese cabbage salad, or Salatet Malfouf. I had never even heard of one. I could imagine what might go into it. So I told her that she had totally intrigued me, and that I would have to go home and do some research.

After scouring loads of sites and comparing recipes, I also googled traditional Lebanese cuisines. You see, a lot of blogs and cooks these days like to take traditional recipes and embellish them, or bring them into the 21st century. Which is fine, I do the same thing. Unless you are actually looking for the original way the recipe started out. But eventually I found it. Talk about simple! It is a blend of shredded cabbage, lemon, olive oil, salt and dried mint. I could practically taste it as I researched it!

I decided that I would honour these original versions, by not adding tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, scallions, parsley etc that several recipes call for. I would stick with the original ingredients. The only change I did make was to use fresh mint instead of dried. I have so much fresh mint on the balcony, that it just seemed wrong not to use it. The great thing about this coleslaw is what is great about most coleslaws. You can make it in advance and let the flavours meld and mellow together. So this can be made at the beginning of dinner prep, and it will be ready when you are ready to serve everything, a few hours later. And leftovers tasted great the next day! And it’s a great way to get cabbage into your salad routine. You don’t need any fancy cabbage- just use a plain, white common cabbage, and you will make some Lebanese grandma very proud!

Love of Lemons

I also noticed after the fact, that there was a definite lemon trend happening here. Shock of shocks! 🙂 Lemon really is the all-round most versatile fruit and flavour. It tenderized the chicken, it became the perfect accent for the carrots, and it was the base for a brilliant cole slaw.

So, we had a dinner party again yesterday evening. In Toronto instead of Calgary this time. And I made this Lebanese Chicken, the Tunisian Carrots, and the Malfouf Salad. There were also some smashed potatoes present on the table. The chicken, carrots and that Salad all got rave reviews! So juicy, and perfectly spiced. The carrots have such a fabulous flavour profile as well. And the potatoes were inhaled, not even enough for leftovers the next day!

What’s great about all of these dishes, is that they are just as good for weekday meals, as they are for company. The only disclaimer: the chicken does the best when it is left to marinate for a good 6 hours to overnight. So you do have to plan ahead if you want to serve this, say on a Thursday. But everything else comes together licketty split.

I’m so glad I was asked to investigate Lebanese cabbage salads. Now I have a new coleslaw that will be made regularly over here. In fact, you can shred the cabbage and store it in a container, make the dressing and keep it in the fridge as well, and then throw it together at the last minute.

*I have updated the Salad to make it mine. After making it the traditional way so many times, I decided that a few other ingredients in the fridge would be welcome in the bowl. It may not be traditional, but the addition of crumbled feta, cubed cucumber, scallions, and plenty of herbs makes this a salad we can live on for a week!

If you make this Lebanese Chicken or the Cabbage, Mint and Feta Salad, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen.