Canellini bread spread

1 can canellini beans, drained
1 small onion, finely chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Sauté the onions in a little olive oil. Add the beans. Keep sautéing until warmed through. Sprinkle with some parsley and a splash of lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher or with a fork.

Enjoy on top of a grilled slice of whole wheat bread.

Lentil Soup - 2 versions

This is how my mom makes mergimekli chorba (lentil soup)

1 cup red lentils,cleaned from small stones and impurties (but maybe your lentils don't need this step) and well rinsed.
1 potato, grossly diced
1 carrot, grossly diced
1 zucchini, grossly diced
1 large onion, chopped
some garlic (4-5 cloves)
Bouillon (I guess about 8 cups)
Cumin
salt and black pepper

Boil everything together until lentils and vegtables are very soft.
Blend (easiest with a hand blender) and serve, sprinkled with ground cumin.
As an extra treat, you can fry some flat pita pieces in oil until golden, and serve with the soup (sprinkle it on each bowl just before eating).

There is also this version, which is maybe more Lebanese, but also very good. It is Lentil soup with Siliq (swiss chard)
Here you use brown lentils.

1 cup brown lentils, picked and rinsed
2 big handfuls siliq rinsed and coaresly chopped
Bouillon
1 large onion
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
Juice of ½ or whole lemon
salt
pepper

Bring the lentils to a boil
Add the swiss chard
Fry the onion in some olive oil until wilted. Add to the soup.
Gently fry the garlic nd coriander (heavenly smell). Add to the soup.
When the lentils are done, add lemon juive, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

Bon apetit!

Lebanese green beans (Loubieh bi zeit)

This is a delicious way of cooking green beans which my friend Zaza taught me.

I usually use flat beans for this recipe, but I'm sure it will also work with "haricots verts".

- Clean and string the green beans if necessary (about 700 g)
- Clean 4 big ripe tomatoes. Peel them if you have the patience :-) and cut them in large boats
- Peel 10 to 12 garlic cloves. Keep them whole.
- Fry the garlic cloves in a little olive oil just to the point when they will start to brown (but don't let them brown).
- Add the green beans and fry them for about 5 min.
- Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, cover and simmer on low heat until the beans are done.

Very simple and very delicious.