Seafood moughrabieh. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoudeh)
Wine with Lebanese dishes? The idea might have seemed strange a few years ago. But today, tastes have changed, and so have desires. Arak is no longer the only option: Make way for new flavors and duos!
As we approach the end of the year, L'Orient Today offers you four traditional Lebanese recipes and the advice of a wine expert for a perfect food-wine match.
Today, a fish and wine match is brought to you by executive chef Yasmina Hayek of the Em Sherif Group, who has just been named the best female chef in the Middle East and North Africa in 2025. Château Ksara now offers a fish and wine pairing.
4 servings
Preparation time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Basic sauce:
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 can (500 g) tomato pulp
1 garlic clove
500 ml water
1 tsp. salt
Simple ingredients for easy preparation. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoudeh)
Moughrabieh:
500 g moughrabieh beans
1 liter of water or vegetable stock
10 shrimp heads
200 g base sauce (see above)
A pinch of Espelette pepper
A pinch of saffron
A pinch of salt
100 ml olive oil
500 g seafood of your choice (shrimp, squid, mussels, pieces of sea bass).
Yasmina Hayek, executive chef and owner of Em Sherif restaurant. (Credit: Jad Abou Jaoudeh)
Instructions
Basic sauce:
Cook the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in a pan with oil until they are soft and tender. Add the crushed tomato pulp. Add water. Cook for 30 minutes with the pan covered.
Moughrabieh:
In a nonstick skillet or casserole, sear the shrimp heads, add the prepared base sauce, the moughrabieh beans, the spices, then add the water or stock. The beans should take a pearlescent shade.
Cook for about 20 minutes, then remove the shrimp heads. Divide the seafood among the moughrabieh beans and continue cooking for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the beans are cooked but still firm, the broth is thick but not completely absorbed, and the seafood is cooked.
Season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh herbs (basil, chives, parsley, etc.)
Château Ksara's choice
“A Chardonnay to accompany seafood moughrabieh, its oak influence will help reduce the iodized side of seafood and lighten the dish, while its buttery aspect adds richness to the dish.”
This recipe was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
