Middle Eastern
Xerophagy
Raw Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Herbs (Fattoush-Style)
Fattoush is the great Levantine bread salad — torn pita mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and herbs in a suma...
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Today's Fast
April 11, 2026
Lenten Fast — Wine is Allowed
Great and Holy Saturday
Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum / Holy Martyrs Processus and Martinian (1st c.)
Troparion: Great and Holy Saturday: Tone II. Noble Joseph ... When Thou, the Deathless Life, didst go down to death, then didst Thou slay hell by the lightning flash of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst raise...
Fasting Recipes
Middle Eastern
Xerophagy
Walnut and Fig Balls with Cinnamon and Honey
These are the sweet, dense, energy-packed bites that get you through the long services of Holy Week when your body is...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Baba Ghanoush (بابا غنوج) — Smoky Roasted Eggplant Dip
Baba ghanoush is the smoky, silky cousin of hummus — roasted eggplant mashed with tahini, lemon, and garlic into a di...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Kibbeh with Bulgur and Walnut
Traditional kibbeh demands lamb, but this Lenten version is built on a shell of fine bulgur and a filling of walnuts,...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Tabbouleh (تبولة)
Tabbouleh is a parsley salad with bulgur wheat, not a bulgur salad with parsley. This distinction matters enormously....
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Ful Medames (فول مدمس) — Stewed Fava Beans
Ful medames is the breakfast of Egypt, eaten by millions every single morning, and it is one of the most ancient prep...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Koshari (كشري) — Egyptian Street Food
Koshari is the national dish of Egypt — a magnificent, chaotic pile of rice, lentils, macaroni pasta, and chickpeas, ...
Middle Eastern
Fast Without Oil
Red Lentil Soup with Cumin and Lemon
Red lentil soup is one of the great gifts of the Middle Eastern kitchen to the fasting table. It requires no oil at a...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Mujaddara (مجدرة) — Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions
Mujaddara may be the single most iconic Orthodox fasting dish in the world. Across Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and the...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Fish
Cod with Chickpeas and Tomatoes
This is a one-pan braise that marries firm white cod with chickpeas in a spiced tomato sauce — cumin, coriander, and ...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Mejadra Hamra — Red Lentil Mujaddara
The red lentil version of mujaddara cooks faster and has a creamier, more porridge-like texture than the classic brow...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Mussakhan — Palestinian Sumac Onion Flatbread
Mussakhan is Palestinian comfort food at its finest: a mountain of deeply caramelized onions seasoned with sumac and ...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Muhammara (محمرة) — Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip
Muhammara is Aleppo's gift to the mezze table — a thick, brick-red dip of roasted red peppers, toasted walnuts, and p...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Fattet Hummus — Layered Chickpea and Bread Dish
Fatteh is the ultimate pantry-raid meal: crispy torn bread, warm spiced chickpeas, a tangy tahini sauce, and toasted ...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Fattoush (فتوش) — Levantine Bread Salad
Fattoush is the Levantine bread salad — crispy pieces of fried or toasted pita tossed with fresh vegetables and a bri...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Falafel (فلافل)
Falafel is fried chickpea patties — crispy, deeply herbed, and one of the most satisfying fasting foods in existence....
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Shakshuka with Tofu
All the warmth and spice of classic shakshuka — cumin-spiked tomato sauce, smoky peppers, a hit of harissa — but with...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Hummus (حمص)
Real hummus — the kind eaten daily across Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine — is made from dried chickpeas, not canned. T...
Middle Eastern
Fast With Oil
Stuffed Grape Leaves (ورق عنب / Warak Enab)
Stuffed grape leaves — warak enab in Arabic — are one of the great shared dishes of the Eastern Mediterranean, found ...
Middle Eastern
Fast Without Oil
Hummus Without Tahini and Oil
Traditional hummus calls for tahini and olive oil. Remove them and you still have something worth eating — just chick...
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