As a guest at the restaurant said recently, “You get a spoon with something brown on it and you think, ‘Okay.’ And then you take a bite and you think: ‘woh’. That’s in short what you should think about this lentil puree. Tasteful, lovely. Can be eaten at room temperature or warm. As an appetizer or part of a mezze or menu. And the crispy fried red onion gives just that little bit of bite that you would like to have with it.

You have to admit it, green beans are just a really boring vegetable. Not interesting at all. Too soft quite quickly. Overcooked really. Really boring. Unless, of course, you do something extraordinary with them and they become the center of your feast. The French often serve them with some butter and some crushed garlic. I do this all the time as well. This is a variation on that theme, but next level.

Orange with fennel and red onion. Not very obvious, until you taste it. Then you understand completely. Perfect combination, brings out the best in each other without one ingredient dominating. Delicious.

I don’t know what you’re thinking when you read this, but I immediately thought: ai ai ai, this is probably one of the best soups ever. And that’s exactly what it is. Hands down. In the restaurant I never make enough of this soup. Guests all want a second serving. If it is up to them of course. It is so surprising. So delicious. The next day you still think about that soup. You start talking about it. You want to make it yourself. That kind of soup.

Falafel is, of course, incredibly tasty on its own, if it is made with the right recipe, and if it is made with love. Part of a mezze. In a pita bread with salad and some hummus. But when you cut them open and fill them with some delicious mixture, they almost take on a royal allure. You can fill with hummus, with muhammara, with a yoghurt/cucumber filling… the possibilities are endless.

Comfort food to the max. Creamy. Nutricious. A little bit spicy but not too much. Enough bite. Yogurt at its best. Soup in a slightly different way. But in a way you ‘should’ have it more often. Because it is so good.

Now, there’s comfort food and comfort food. This is the ultimate version of it. And just what you expect from comfort food, it takes hours and hours for it to be at its best. But then, but then… Lima beans, the dry ones, become so very soft after spending all these hours in the pan. You can hardly imagine that they can get so soft at all. It is the secret of adding olive oil in the water. Patience. Endless soft boiling water. And then dip with some spicy shatta, crispy red onion and tasty flatbread until you drop.

Tabbouleh is really one of the great classics in Lebanese cuisine. There are of course variations on the theme and this is one of them. Incredibly soft in taste, surprising with its different flavors that are incorporated. A feast for the eyes and the other senses.

Sometimes you think that lentils can no longer surprise you. That you now know them from all sides. And believe me, I like lentils so much that I put them on the table very often. This is a new variant. And one that we had two days in a row, we liked it that much.

I’m not a bread eater. I don’t really like bread. With the exception of a warm crispy ‘kaak’ and this bulgur bread. This is really exactly what I’m looking for in a loaf of bread. My eyes widened, my head nodded approvingly, I was in my own delicious world full of taste sensation for a few minutes before I realised again that I was sitting at the table with others. That kind of bread.

It’s always a bit difficult when it comes to pies. As long as the dough is good. Exactly soft enough. Just crunchy enough. Evenly. And the filling also matches the amount of dough. In that regard, these pies simply score a 10. In every way really. Just super successful as a dish. Or it can also be served as a snack.

When you think of a hearty soup, you think of a heavy hearty soup. This is a meal soup, but one of the lighter kind. Nice for lunch, nutritious and very tasty. A bit spicy, really something different. And since spinach is one of my absolute ‘favourites’, I’m always happy when you can put this vegetable on the table in a different way. Right?

Carrot nog so tasteful? Well, then you haven’t made this dish yet. The carrot is so flavorful thanks to fennel seeds. The bulgur turns gold because of the turmeric. Pickled cucumber gives it an unparalleled freshness. And the pomegranate seeds provide the indispensable bite. Together they form a golden combination. Well, the picture speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

This is your new favorite dish. Briefly fry the cauliflower florets in the olive oil. Raisins, pine nuts, dried mint, salt and some lemon juice. And you have such a surprisingly light and delicious dish. Cauliflower at its best.