Argentinian vs Lebanese food & cuisine

Argentina

Argentine food runs mild — far less chili than Peru or Bolivia, less layered with dried spice than Brazil’s Bahian cooking. The Northwest, closest to the Andes, uses cumin and ground ají (capsicum pepper) more. Everywhere else — the Pampas, the coast, Patagonia — runs on salt, garlic, and parsley. Seasoning is restrained during cooking, sharper on the finished dish. A steak may reach the grill with little more than salt, then meet chimichurri or salsa criolla at the table.

Fresh aromatics dominate: onion and bell pepper cook into empanada fillings, stews, and tomato sauces. Garlic and parsley often work to flavor meat, potatoes, and sauces. Oregano goes into pizza, tomato sauce, and chimichurri. Black pepper is used everywhere. Bay leaf goes into anything cooked a long time. In the northwest, dried cumin, pimentón (dry paprika) and ají molido are more widespread. Ají molido — the most characteristically Argentine dry chile seasoning. Usually mild to moderately hot, with more warmth and pepper flavor than aggressive heat.

The Argentine flavors run around vinegar, salt and oregano, basil, bay and ají; household versions commonly add garlic, parsley and oil.

PROVENZAL — hopped garlic and parsley with no oil or vinegar, dusted onto milanesa, papas fritas, or sautéed mushrooms after cooking. Functions as a finishing seasoning.

CHIMICHURRI –  a loose herb-and-vinegar sauce, usually made with parsley, garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil, salt and ají molido. It is served with grilled beef, sausages and offal, or used as a marinade. Sharp, herbal and only mildly hot in most Argentine versions.

SALSA CRIOLLA is closer to a finely chopped relish: usually tomato, onion and bell pepper dressed with vinegar, oil and salt. It is served cold with asado, achuras and especially choripán. Unlike chimichurri, its main job is freshness and crunch.

MAYONESA CASERA — homemade mayonnaise, looser and more acidic than the commercial jarred kind, standard on sandwiches de miga and alongside milanesa.

SALSA GOLF — mayonnaise beaten with ketchup. Cold, used for shrimp cocktail, fries, sometimes milanesa.

Lebanon

SEASONINGS

A Lebanese flavor profile is fragrant, fresh, and balanced – never overwhelming, always layered. Herbs are less prominent than various spices and their combinations, with the exception of mint and parsley. Lebanese cuisine welcomes not only fresh but also dried herbs, especially mint, which is generously used in beverages.

Compared to other Mediterranean cuisines, Lebanese dishes stand out for its sourness . The sour elements are yogurt, tomatoes, pomegranates, and their molasses, extensive use of lemon juice, verjuice (acidic juice made by pressing unrip grapes), plums, almonds, apricots (even not fully ripened), high-quality sumac. The name of sumac comes from the Aramaic word summaq, meaning dark red. Indeed, dark red berries, once they are fully ripe are harvested, dried, and ground to a texture of ground nuts. Widely used in Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Lebanese cooking, it adds sourness and zestiness and calls out the natural flavors in meats, salads, and dips. Many Lebanese sauces and dressings feature garlic, lemon, and tahini, a paste made from toasted and ground sesame seeds. Sesame, nigella seeds, mahlab are often sprinkled on breads and pastries.  The use of floral waters is extensive: orange blossom water and rose water have been used for centuries and are associated with luxury and refinement.

ZA’ATAR – a fundamental spice mix often used as a topping for bread, meats, and vegetables, or mixed with olive oil. Made of dried thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, salt.

Warm spices are popular: allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cumin, cloves, and black pepper. Together, they form the BAHARAT spice blend, which is also known as the Lebanese SEVEN SPICE blend.

Though more widely associated with Egypt, variations of DUKKAH are also found in Lebanese cuisine. It blends sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin, salt, and black pepper.

KAMOUNEH  spice – used to flavor kibbeh and can be used as a meat rub. This spice mix gives a distinctive earthy flavor: cumin (key spice, hence the name), coriander, cinnamon, pepper, dried mint, allspice, sumac, and basil.

SAUCES

The classy flavor combination of garlic, lemon, and olive oil is also common to Lebanon. It unfolds in TOUM sauce (resembling Spanish allioli and French aioli), where these three ingredients, salt and water, are emulsified to a thick spread in a food processor. Although the ingredients are the same, the feel and texture of the sauce are quite distinct.

TARATOR sauce – tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water used as a dressing for falafel, shawarma, fish, or served alongside kibbeh and roasted vegetables

DIBIS W TAHINI – a traditional sauce made from a mix of tahini and dibis (date molasses).

SUMAC SAUCE – a tangy sauce made from sumac, olive oil, and sometimes mixed with onions and parsley.