This is a popular spicy Libyan dish which consists of salad, garnished with olives and hard-boiled eggs. It can also be served as a spicy accompaniment to barbecued meat and newly baked bread. It usually consists of tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, aubergines, garlic and hot chillies⁷.

Tajin Mahshi is a Libyan flavoured stew which can be served either as a main meal or as a side dish. It consists of various stewed vegetables such as bell peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, and courgettes, filled with a combination of minced meat, onions, rice, and spices such as ginger, chillies, cinnamon and turmeric⁸.

Couscous Bil Bosla is a Libyan dish prepared with a combination of couscous, chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, and lamb or beef with flavour garnered from onions, butter, chili peppers, and various spices. To serve, the couscous is placed on a plate with the lamb pieces arranged on top, following which the dish is covered with a chickpea topping⁹.

This dish has its origin in Eastern Libya. The main ingredient of this dish is steamed pasta. The pasta is combined with lamb and is accompanied by a sauce made with clarified butter, onions, chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, and raisins. The dish is flavored with ginger, cloves, bay leaves and shaiba leaves. Orange flower water and cinnamon are sprinkled over the dish. When served, the pasta is placed in the middle of the plate and topped with the sauce. ¹⁰.

Ruz Hoot Bil Kusbur is an aromatic Libyan dish consisting of rice cooked in a stock made from fish heads. It is combined with oil, coriander seeds, onions, tomatoes, celery, and various spices. The dish is traditionally served with grilled, baked, or fried white fish fillets which were previously marinated in a combination of garlic, cumin, hot peppers, and lemon juice. It is often accompanied by Haraymi sauce, with lemon wedges on the side¹¹.

Hasa Adas is a healthy vegetable soup, typically consisting of lentils, onions, tomatoes and carrots and flavoured with garlic and cumin. Once prepared, Hasa Adas is garnished with crispy caramelized onions or toasted pieces of bread. When made with the addition of meat, the soup is often poured over toasted Arabic bread, and is then known as Fattat Adas. It is eaten as a warming winter dish¹².

Bazin is a popular Libyan unleavened bread made by boiling barley flour and salt in water and beating it with a specially designed stick called a magraf until it develops into a dough, which is then either baked or steamed. The bread is characterized by its hard texture, which is achieved by using large quantities of salt. By tradition, it is shared and consumed using the right hand. Bazin is often served with a tomato-based stew, lamb, potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs¹⁴.

The very hot summers of Libya result in extremely hot sand. This is put to good use by the Tuareg people of Ghadames, whose way of baking their bread is to build a small fire on the sand, and bury the bread in the sand beneath it. The technique can also be used to bake potatoes (jacket potato) and eggs by burying them whole beneath the hearth. A good shake and a couple of whacks cleans the bread and makes it edible¹⁵.

Makroudh - Makroudh Is a diamond shaped cookie consisting of a sweet date filling, with nuts and almond paste. The dough is a combination of semolina and flour, which gives the pastry a very specific texture. Makroudh can be fried in oil or oven-baked. Makroudh with dates and honey is also popular during Eid al-Fitr¹⁶.

Basbousa Bil Tamr is a Libyan variation of the traditional Arabic semolina-based cake, Basbousa. The Libyan variation involves drenching Basbousa in date syrup, and decorating with almonds. Desiccated coconut is added to the cake mixture and a paste made from dates is placed between the two layers of semolina cake. The cake is made with semolina, flour, desiccated coconut, sugar, butter, milk, cinnamon, date-paste, and baking powder. Libyans often enjoy their Basbousa Bil Tamr with qashta (cream), alongside a cup of warming Arabic cardamom coffee¹³.

Ghoriba is a type of round, shortbread cookie made with flour, sugar, butter, and usually almonds. It is often served with traditional Arabic coffee or Maghreb mint tea. Ghoriba, also pronounced as Ghurayba, has been consumed for hundreds of years in Libya, as well as the Greater Syria area, Iraq and other Arab countries¹⁷.

Kunafa is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with shredded filo pastry, or alternatively fine semolina dough, soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with sweet cheese, or ingredients such as clotted cream and nuts, depending on the region¹⁸.

Ingredients - 6 servings

• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 pound of lamb shoulder chops or beef stew or chicken
• Potatoes or pumpkins, cut up (figure on one medium potato per serving)
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste or 4 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
• Spices: 1 tablespoon of paprika, one tablespoon of hot paprika, 1/2 tablespoon of turmeric, salt, black pepper
• olive oil, as needed
• 2 cups of barley flour, preferably organic (250 g)²⁵.

Instructions

1. Make the stew first: heat the pot, add the olive oil and the onions and fry the onions for a few minutes; add the lamb chops or stew meat and brown for 15 minutes, flipping it every 5 minutes.
2. Add the spices, salt, black pepper, tomato paste and 3 cups of water. Close the lid and simmer for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
3. Add the potatoes or pumpkin pieces to the stew (or both) and cook 25 minutes longer, adding more water to the pot. Uncover the pot towards the end of cooking time to let the sauce thicken a bit and taste, adjusting seasoning.
4. Make the dumpling: Pour a quart of water into a pot; add 1/4 cup of oil and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Put the barley flour on the water and without touching it, let the flour float and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the dough into a bowl, reserving the cooking water. Using a long stick, begin stirring the dough, gradually adding more water, until the dough becomes a compact and smooth form, just like a cookie dough. Pinch off large pieces of dough and form into a mound in the middle of the plate, using a large spoon to form a crater in the middle.
5. Spoon the hot stew on the crater and all around the dumpling.
6. Serve.

Ingredients - 6 servings

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1/2-1 lb. pasta shells
• 2-3 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3-5 cloves garlic minced
• 3 oz. tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon caraway powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
• 3 jalapeño peppers ²⁷ .

Instructions

1. Boil 8 cups of water in a kettle.
2. Saute the onion in the canola oil over medium-high heat until translucent.
3. Add the chicken and brown on all sides.
4. Reduce the temperature and add the garlic, tomato puree, and all the spices including salt and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Raise the heat to medium high, add the water and bring to the boil, reduce to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Bring back to the boil and add 2 whole jalapeños and 1 sliced thinly. Add the pasta and more boiling water if necessary.
7. The pasta will take longer to cook than if just cooking in water alone.²⁸

Ingredients

• 1 pound stewing beef cut into four pieces
• 1½ tablespoons oil for frying
• 1 large onion, halved and cut in half rings
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, halved
• 8 ounces pumpkin or yam, cut into four chunks
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 2 tablespoons hararat (see recipe below)
• ⅓ cup tomato purée
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups beef broth
• Couscous

Instructions

1. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and fry the beef until browned.
2. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for one minute.
3. Add the chilli powder, hararat, tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock, salt, and brown sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Add the vegetables and garbanzo beans, return to a boil, reduce, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until vegetables and beef are tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. To serve, add the couscous to a serving platter, arrange the meat and vegetables on top then ladle the tomato-based sauce over everything ³¹

Ingredients - 6 servings

1. 2 cinnamon sticks broken into 4 pieces each
2. 4 teaspoons cumin seeds
3. 4 teaspoons coriander seeds
4. 2 red chilies
5. 1 teaspoon allspice berries
6. Heat a large non-stick frying pan then toast the spices for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until they become very fragrant.
7. Transfer to a bowl and once cool, grind. 8.Store in an air-tight jar until ready to use.

Ingredients

• 1 pound stewing beef cut into four pieces
• 1½ tablespoons oil for frying
• 1 large onion, halved and cut in half rings
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, halved
• 8 ounces pumpkin or yam, cut into four chunks
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 2 tablespoons hararat (see recipe below)
• ⅓ cup tomato purée
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups beef broth
• Couscous

Instructions

1. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and fry the beef until browned.
2. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for one minute.
3. Add the chilli powder, hararat, tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock, salt, and brown sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Add the vegetables and garbanzo beans, return to a boil, reduce, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until vegetables and beef are tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. To serve, add the couscous to a serving platter, arrange the meat and vegetables on top then ladle the tomato-based sauce over everything ³¹

ShakShouka (also called Chakshouka) is a dish of tomatoes, onions, pepper, spices, and eggs, usually eaten for breakfast or lunch.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ⅓ cups chopped onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced bell peppers, any color
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
• 2 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, paprika and salt.
• 1 hot chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste
• 4 eggs *

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, bell peppers, and garlic; cook and stir until the vegetables have softened and the onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Combine the tomatoes, cumin, paprika, salt, and chilli pepper into a bowl and mix briefly.
3. Pour the tomato mixture into the skillet, and stir to combine. Simmer, uncovered, until the tomato juices have cooked off, about 10 minutes.
4. Make four indentations in the tomato mixture for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the indentations.
5. Cover the skillet and let the eggs cook until they're firm but not dry, approximately 5 minutes. Serve immediately. ³¹