Food

The ‘National Over Mediterranean’ bakery and equipment factory in Beirut uses an automatic machine to produce thousands of pita loaves per day!

The company’s high-powered machine is automatic, and can produce up to 12,000 loaves per hour, their website said. The loaves range from 15 to 40 centimeters.

NME uses the machine to make seven styles of traditional Lebanese bread.

The bread is sold to supermarkets, large restaurants and bakeries.

In a viral video posted by INSIDER, the automated process appears to start with a piece of dough flattened into circular flakes that travel through a conveyer belt.

The bread is baked at a perfect temperature and packed into bags for distribution.

According to the NME website, the company distributes bread to customers worldwide.

To learn more about their bread production and distribution, click here.

Sure, Lebanese foods include an abundance of meat, chicken and seafood, but there are also recipes perfect for vegans!

Lebanese cuisine is rich with whole grains, vegetables and beans that can you help you plan for meals this Veganuary.

Veganuary is a campaign launched in 2014 as a way to encourage people to try vegan for the month of January.

If you are participating this month, or are planning to try vegan in the future, consider these recipes:

Foul Moudamas

Ingredients

• 2 15 ounce cans cooked small fava beans
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic, mashed
• ½ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 punch parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pour the cooked fava beans with the liquid into heavy saucepan.
2. Add the mashed garlic, the cumin, the salt and the pepper. Bring to a boil.
3. Using potato mashed, mash the fava beans partially and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice, the olive oil and half of the chopped vegetables. Stir, adjust the seasoning and remove from the heat.
5. Spoon the foul moudamas into shallow serving dish and top with the rest of the chopped vegetables.

Recipe courtesy of Sanaa Cooks

Salatet Fassoulia

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried cannellini or Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
• ¹⁄₂ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¹⁄₄ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¹⁄₄ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring beans and 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans are tender, about 50 minutes. Drain beans and set aside in a bowl.
2. Whisk together oil, lemon juice, parsley, cumin, and garlic in a small bowl.
3. Drizzle garlic mixture over beans, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Serve bean salad cold or at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Saveur.

Mujadara

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 1 3/4 cups lentils rinsed and sorted
• 1 cup rice white par-boiled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep sauce pot over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent and caramelized, 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add lentils and increase heat to medium-high. Toast lentils for 60 seconds then add 6 cups water. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are halfway cooked, about 15 minutes.
3. Add rice, salt and pepper to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Stir once, cover with lid, then reduce heat to low. Cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
4. Fluff lentils and rice with a fork before serving with caramelized onions.

Recipe courtesy of The Lemon Bowl.

Falafel

Ingredients

• 1 kg green dried fava beans, peeled
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup fresh coriander, chopped (cilantro)
• 3 heads garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground red chili pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons plain flour or 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
• 1 teaspoon ground dried coriander
• 1⁄2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3 teaspoons baking powder

Directions

1. Soak beans in water for 24 hours, then drain well. Peel the fava beans.
2. Mix together the peeled fava beans, chopped parsley, coriander/cilantro, crushed garlic and chopped onions.
3. Grind in a food processor.
4. Add all remaining falafel ingredients and process again.
5. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
6. Knead the falafel mix.
7. Form spoonfuls of the falafel mixture into balls and flatten slightly.
8. Heat oil in deep pan over high heat, then fry till browned.
9. Note: Cooking time does not include 24 hours soaking time for the beans.

Recipe courtesy of Genius Kitchen.

Batata Harra

Ingredients

• 1 kg desiree potatoes, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup finely chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
2. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and salt. Divide potatoes among 2 baking paper-lined oven trays. Transfer the trays to the oven and roast for 40 minutes, turning once, until golden.
3. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and coriander and cook for 1–2 minutes until the garlic starts to change color.
4. Add the lemon juice and the hot potatoes to the pan and toss lightly to coat. Season to taste and sprinkle with the cayenne pepper.

Recipe courtesy of SBS Food.