Recipe For A Vegetarian Middle Eastern Dinner Date
Middle eastern cuisine is the perfect choice for a vegetarian dinner date. There are lots of choices for people who don't eat meat. Below you will find a selection of some of the more popular choices. You can buy these things at your local store and then you can avoid the complicated process of cooking from scratch, which might not be something you want to do. So, here is a selection of things to look for next time your out shopping. You can pick up the items at your local gourmet store and bakery.
Hummus
This is a delicious spread that is ubiquitous in middle eastern fare. It's vegetarian, and perfect for your diner date. It's made with chickpeas, tahani, olive oil, and lemon. You can make it from scratch, but there are also lots of pre-made brands. If you want to get creative there are lots of varieties to choose from including hummus with olives, sundried tomatoes, pistachios, pomegranates, and other ingredients.
Falafel
This is a great dish that is perfect for people who don't eat meat. It's again, like hummus, made with chickpeas. The falafel is more of a dumpling like dish, and not a spread. The chickpeas are mixed with flour and spices and then either baked or fried. You can get premade falafel, or you get a mix that you just add water too and then you can bake or deep fry them yourself. The falafel can be served in a salad, or if you want to be very traditional, they should be served in a flatbread and dressed with hummus and a tahani sauce.
PIta Bread
This is the classic flatbread of Middle Eastern cuisine. You can get this flatbread at any specialty bakery. You can cut the pita into slices and then toast them. You can then use these as chips with which to serve the hummus. And of course, you can use it in the classic way which would involve slicing it open, filling it with fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, and sliced onions and the adding falafel and hummus. This is one of the traditional sandwiches of middle eastern fare.
White Wine
The perfect wine for vegetarian middle eastern fare is white wine. While things such as lamb go well with red, for the hummus and falafel you will want to pick a nice light white wine. Luckily, there are many great vineyards in the middle east, specifically Lebanon and Israel, that specialize in chardonnays and musar.