I have not one, not two but FOUR recipe for you guys today! All these recipes have been long overdue so I thought I'd put them all together in one post under the culinary umbrella of Meze or Mezze.
If you have been following my blog, you would know that I love Middle-Eastern food. If you follow me on Instagram, you would frequently see pics of homemade mezze platters that both my husband and I love putting together.
Mezze (which is pronounced 'meh-zay'), is a style of dining that is popular in the eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, the Balkans, Western Asia, and the Middle East. This includes countries such as Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Iran, Dubai, Armenia and others.
So in my household, we usually make 2-4 dips depending on the day of the week. On weeknights, our mezze is much simpler and usually consists of a basic hummus and moutabel with toasted wholemeal pita bread, crudités and small portions of whatever fresh + dried fruit and nuts we can find in the fridge.
On weekends, we go all out, and more so when entertaining. We make a minimum of 4 dips - hummus, moutabel, tzatziki (a cucumber and yogurt dip with Persian roots) and muhammara (a spicy bright red Syrian dip made with red pepper and walnuts). We serve these dips with toasted pita bread, crackers, crudités, grilled halloumi, tabbouleh (a Levantine salad made of fresh herbs, tomatoes, onion and bulgur), dolma, falafel, feta cheese, olives, an assortment of dried fruit (dates, apricots, prunes, figs) and nuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts and pecans), pomegranate arils, grapes and fresh figs (when available).
Yes, a homemade mezze platter does entail some planning and preparation but the best part is, a lot of the steps or the dips in their entirety can be made ahead of time. I usually make the hummus and moutabel and my husband takes care of the tzatziki and muhammara so it doesn't feel like too much work. And keep in mind, not everything needs to be homemade. We usually order fresh Cajun or garlic pita bread, pita pockets, tahini and falafel mix from Pita Bakery Singapore and dolma from Redmart or Amazon which makes things easier. Also, since this mezze platter is an appetizer and main course rolled into one, it is everything you need to do to have a complete meal. It is hearty, wholesome and delicious. And most importantly, it also appeals to both adults and children alike!
I like to serve either baklava (a layered pastry dessert of Ottoman cuisine) or Aish el Saraya (Lebanese bread pudding) at the end of a mezze and my husband makes a refreshing and delicious iced Moroccan mint tea which I feel goes really well with this meal. So, in case you need ideas for throwing a dinner party, you can always revisit this post.
You know, our children who can be categorized as fussy eaters, let out a whoop of delight when they see a mezze spread on our dinner table. We give them complete freedom in choosing what they want to eat and being fairly predictable, they always go for the pita bread, crackers, cucumber and carrot sticks, feta cheese, dried fruit and nuts and fresh fruit. Of all the dips, they like hummus and tzatziki the best. They don't like olives and halloumi cheese so they steer clear of it. While they don't like absolutely everything on the platter, we are glad that they get excited by the wide array of choices and enjoy the eating experience. I feel like our job as parents is to indoctrinate our children to good food at an early age and then trust that they will grow up to make smart choices. I am hopeful that our little ones will grow up to appreciate different textures ad flavour combinations and have respect for all cuisines. My husband and I love everything on the mezze platter so overall, I would definitely consider this a family favourite meal. And of course, it always feels wonderful when we sit together as a family for a communal dining tradition 😊
I made this mezze platter last Sunday after getting muddled up with the date for Father's Day. Turns out, in my enthusiasm, I realized the day before that I was a week too early! But since I had got most of the ingredients, I proceeded to make it anyway (who in their right mind would complain? 😜). These are tried and tested recipes that we have been making for years. I made sure to take a lot of pictures so I could feature all four dips at the same time.
I really hope you try one or more (or all!) these dips. You can always tweak the taste and consistency based on your preference. Check out the notes section at the bottom of the recipe for tips, substitutions and storage conditions.
Happy Father's Day in advance to all the protectors, fixers, mentors, anchors and real life heroes out there! 💖
