We recently visited a new Lebanese restaurant that opened in Lisbon. It is called Touta and is a delightful, feminine nook with a delicious pantry stocked with preserves (from gherkins to preserved lemons, from sumac to za’atar, and from pomegranate molasses to geranium syrup—in one word: heaven).
We have a very soft spot for Lebanese food.
Countless times, we hop for a quick lunch at Citron, our neighbourhood Lebanese joint, and we are always in the mood for babaganoush. So, it was natural for us to make a Lebanese dinner on our first night out after returning to town.
We spent the summer in the Dolomites, eating regional Alpine food—and a lot of gels, barrettes, and nuts during our hikes. Lisbon has been calling us with the scent of spices, and we were glad to be back in its bustling food scene.
Touta is an enjoyable place for dinner, and the owner and Cheffe Cynthia Bitar are five stars. You feel welcomed and embraced, the same as you’d imagine being if you had a Lebanese aunt inviting you over for a meal. Everything is prepared and served with care, and right at the appetizer, I had an actual coup de coeur.
We started our meal with a rice-stuffed round zucchini.
Now, let me explain.
Round zucchini are a small speckle of divinity: they are tiny shrines that can be filled with meat, fish, rice, pasta, or vegetables—anything literally. Their beautiful shapes are a delight to behold, and they act as a small mini-oven, creating inside them the perfect place for flavours to develop.
The stuffing here was rice and vine leaves—like in Greek dolmades, with sumac, pomegranate juice, spices, and everything nice.
It's a bite to remember.
As we ate the rest - a delicious babaganoush, a fresh cabbage salad, cuttlefish and even chicken - we could not stop talking about stuffed foods, especially vegetables.
My mum frequently makes stuffed food. Pomodori al riso is a delicious tradition I also follow at home. I love to stuff eggplants and zucchini with meat, fish, or rice. Even some simple tomatoes, sliced in half and lightly stuffed with breadcrumbs, herbs and anchovies, are a bite for a king.
When did it go so out of fashion? - we asked ourselves.
For once, zucchini - like any stuffed veggies - must be prepared in advance and eventually re-heated. You can not simply bake one zucchini at a time—you make a batch. This is why round-stuffed zucchini is also the perfect food for family gatherings.
Moreover, due to its preparation, it loses its natural colour. It fades into a “baked in the oven” hue—which is not what contemporary food scenes seem to like, with their emphasis on brilliant colours and title flowers and whatnot to garnish.
Third, eating it is a bit of a messy affair: the filling falls out everywhere, and the plate, while eating, is more akin to a ferry disaster than a fine dining two-ingredients morsels polished visuals, so many chefs have become addicted to.
Lastly, it is a type of food that is not highly regarded: it is just a vegetable, after all. Preparing it properly requires planning, attention, love, and—above all—time. Tweezers, sous-vide, Paco-jets, and prepared emulsion bags are in vogue in contemporary professional cuisine.
Long oven baking times, not so much.
It is a pity we find more hideous tartellettes than stuffed vegetables at restaurants. I think that it is time now for the whole restaurant environment to take a deep, hard look outside their button belly and ask themselves, “What would customers like to eat?”. Not “what a Michelin stars-giving classifier (I refuse to call them “critics”) would like to eat”.
People.
At lunch.
At dinner.
Are we really that deluded in thinking that it is better for every restaurant on the face of the earth to create the same fucking tartellette and fill it with disappointment than explore the magical world of filled vegetables?
Some inspirational recipes for you:
Do you have a stuffed vegetable recipe to suggest? I am all ears!
Post scriptum: I will continue—even reinforce—my support for Lebanese eateries and their owners. In light of the despicable events caused by their southern neighbour, I feel closer to them than ever.
Lebanon and Palestine must be free, safe, sovereign countries - and free from war, famine, genocide and intrusive neighbours.
Recommendations for further reading:
“I encourage you to do the same, whether it’s a picnic in the park, eating breakfast with the sun on your face or a full-blown BBQ or pizza-making session in the garden. There is something about food cooked and eaten outside that feels oh so wholesome and always more delicious, you’ve really earned it.” says
in her recipe article. You can find the blog here:A fascinating deep dive into the dilemma between oven-roasted and flame-burned aubergine is available on the Instagram page of Pop Palestine Cuisine, a book I have already recommended: