HAPARI Honors France and Lebanon

Make these Traditional Meals to Celebrate French and Lebanese Culture

(Image via Taste)

The tragedies of November 13, 2015, will be remembered as a dark day in history. Late Friday night, three groups of terrorists conducted coordinated attacks in the city of Paris, leaving 129 innocent people killed and wounding at least 352 others. In other world news, Lebanon also experienced similar attacks in the city of Beirut, leaving at least 40 dead.

The brutality of the world can be overwhelming but the amount of support, love, and outpouring of support shown to the French and Lebanese people speaks volumes about the human spirit. We are one people; and despite the few that advocate for horrific acts of violence, the majority of humankind are good, caring, and compassionate people.

One thing we can do to help is to spread light; to honor each other and lift one another up. Today’s post hopes to do just that - we’re featuring traditional French and Lebanese cuisines to celebrate these respective cultures. While we also encourage supporting relief agencies to help those affected by these tragedies, taking the time to honor the people of France and Lebanon is also a way to show support. Like the French say, "liberté, égalité, fraternité!"

French Cuisine - Salad Nicoise

The French are typically very healthy. They eat well, drink well, and appreciate the dining experience. One of the tastiest and healthiest meals found in traditional French cuisine is the Salad Nicoise, named for the Nicoise olives used in the dish. The dish consists of tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, and anchovies served on a bed of lettuce. It’s often topped with salmon, poached eggs, or other meats.

(Image via Brian Hagiwara)

Recipe

This particular variation of Salad Nicoise comes to us from Delish, and includes a made-from-scratch parsley vinaigrette dressing. Check out the full recipe here.

Lebanese Cuisine - Bulgur Pilaf

In Lebanese culture, meals are a warm gathering of friends, family and neighbors. An often used term before sitting down for a meal translates to, “Please come, the meal is ready.” Today, we’re featuring one of the most popular Lebanese dishes, Bulgur Pilaf. For those who may be unfamiliar, pilaf is a term used referencing the cooking of long grain rice in a seasoned broth or soup. It’s delicious and drool-worthy. Bulgur is a type of wheat cereal. Combining the two, you have a delicious, spicy, and tasty side dish. Add meat (or a substitute protein source) with the dish and you’ve got a tasty, healthy meal!

(Image via YoppApp)

Recipe

We scoured the internet for the best bulgur pilaf recipe and found a fresh herb and lemon variation from Eating Well. With over 68 votes and reviews, this dish is a must-try and might just replace your standard grain side dishes (ahem, sorry rice) from now on. Check out the recipe here.

For more posts like this, check out the HAPARI Blog. We’re like your favorite lifestyle blog, but better - mostly because we follow the HAPARI code of creating quality content you want to read. See you there!