Having grown up living in and visiting Mediterranean / Middle Eastern homes where the kitchen was at the heart of every day life, I’ve picked up a thing or two.
I don’t know whether I’m just greedy, or if I actually consider cooking a therapeutic art and labour of love.
If you locate a dish’s origins on a map, you see how areas and boundaries merge with the similarities of certain dishes amongst other cultural aspects. The notorious rivalry between the Greeks and the Turks squabbling over who claims ownership of Baklava, or between the Italians and Spanish where Turron / Torrone is concerned is futile. Or the great Pizza / Pitta / Pide debate – forget about that one, we ALL know Pizza was invented in Napoli 
Dishes are found in various forms in most of the Med countries, although differing from country to country. We can see just how similar the people of the Mediterranean regardless of any boundary.
There is also a special section where Romanian Gypsy band Fanfare Ciocarlia have shared their favorite recipes with NazarBlue!
Here you will find main meals, salads, vegetable dishes, antipasto, meze, and anything else for the savoury palate.
Baked Feta with Tomatoes and Green Pepper – simple, rustic and deicious.
Balkan Breakfast – A ritual?
Beef & Bean Stew – Kuru Fasulye
Bread – Simple sesame bread recipe
Bread Soup – Italian Style: Zuppa di Pane Cotto
Bread Soup – Balkan Style: Popara
Burgers – Pork and Fennel Burgers stuffed with Graviera Cheese
Cannellini Bean Mash – tasty, nutritious and economical
Chicken and Pinenut Village Style Rice
Chicken Soup – Turkish style.
Courgettes Stuffed with Smoked Feta and Bulgur Wheat
Eggs in Purgatory – Eggs poached in Tomato Sauce Italian style.
Farinata di Ceci / Karantita / Karane / Calentita – Baked Chickpea Batter
Fennel Seed Crackers – Puglian ‘Taralli’
Fergese Tirane – Cooked Red Pepper and Feta Cheese
Goats Cheese Salad – Lebanese Style
Haydari – chilled strained yoghurt, white cheese and dill dip.
Kafta – Minced Meat Kebabs
Kisir – Bulgur Wheat Salad – crunchy & sour.
Lamb and Potato Bake – the ultimate Puglian comfort food
Lentil Kofte – Red Lentil Patties (Great for veggies!)
Lentil Soup – Wholesome, Turkish style red lentil soup (Mercimek Çorbası)
Manoush – Lebanese Breakfast Pizza
Mantija – Balkan Beef Pastries
Menemen – Turkish Style Tomato and Egg Breakfast Dish
Mousaka – Syrian Style Aubergine and Chick Peas
Pan Fried Cheese – Saganaki
Pasta with Chickpeas- Pasta e Ceci in Italian. ‘Lampp ‘e tuone’ in Napoletano!
Peperonata – Nonna’s Pepper Recipe
Peperoni Verdi – Small Green Neapoletan Peppers with Cherry Tomatoes
Pumpkin, Hazelnut and Ricotta Salad
Sea Bream, Baked with Potatos and Olives – First sampled in Tropikal resort, Durres.
Sobrassada – A way Menorcans use Sobrassada – Thanks to the Pons Quintana family 
Spaghetti alla Carrettiere – Raw sauce; simple, tasty & fuss free.
Stuffed Vine Leaves (with meat) – Yaprak Sarmasi – a firm favorite in Murat’s family houehold.
Stuffed Vine Leaves (Meatless) – Yaprak Sarmasi with Rice, Pinenuts, Sultanas & Dill.
Ta’Chin – Persian Crispy rice with Chicken
Tortano – Traditional Southern Italian festive bread stuffed with cheese and ham.
Za’atar Spice Mix for use on bread / meat.
