Dining: Comptoir Libanais
Discover one of the best dressed Lebanese imports in the UK.
Comptoir Libanais has grown steadily since opening its first set of doors in 2008 to bring delicious, light and casual Lebanese dining to the UK. The feel of a Comptoir is unlike anywhere else; casual elegance paired with a home cooking and relaxed vibe, the interior is awash with brilliant red and brushed-chrome industrial stools, bold-patterned turquoise tables and monochrome geometric flooring. Decorative ceramic tiles, a popular decor feature in traditional Middle Eastern homes, are everywhere.
When you walk into a Comptoir, you'll find the face of Sirine Jamal al Dine everywhere. An Arabic actress, her likeness has been used across the restaurant's branding from the walls to the menus, and it embodies the feel of something different, a little traditional and 100% authentic.
With locations all over the UK, there'll definitely be one close to you. Here at the Comptoir in Leeds, I've picked out a couple of my favourites from the menu for you to try the next time you're visiting.
TOP PICKS
Cheese Samboussek
Pastry parcels filled with halloumi & feta cheese topped with sesame seeds served with mint yoghurt sauce.
Spinach Fatayer
Baked pastry pie filled with spinach, feta cheese, sumac, pine nuts & olive oil served with a village salad.
Aubergine Tagine
Aubergines in a tomato, peppers, onion & chickpea stew served with mint yoghurt sauce.
Lamb Kofta Wrap
Spiced minced lamb, hommos, pickled cucumber & tomato. Served with hommos, and Comptoir salad.
Dining: Cafe Moor
Discover one of TFO’s favourite Middle Eastern street food vendors!
If you ever happen to be in God’s own county (that’s Yorkshire in case you didn’t know), you simply must make a stop at the indoor Kirkgate Market in Leeds.
You’ll find the delightful Café Moor at the top, housed in a North African/Middle Eastern abode complete with lanterns and wall hangings. The café is also home to some of the most delicious African/Middle Eastern street food you’re likely to find in West Yorkshire.
From soups to stuffed pastries, to the well-recognised classics of hummous, falafel, baba ganoush and dolma, to others you may never have tried before including boureks, bastilla, shawarma and mhadjeb, there’s something to suit every taste.
I head over to Café Moor as often as I can – the owner and I are practically on first name terms because he sees me so much – and I picked out a couple if my favourite items from the menu. (I’ve pretty much tried the entire menu at this point).
Menu Picks
Chicken Shawarma Sandwich
Roasted thin slice of marinated spit-roasted chicken, garlic sauce, pickles & salad rolled in an Arabic flatbread.
Lamb Bourek
Spicy Moorish lamb merguez and goats cheese served with salad and chakchouka.
Kibbeh
A combination of bulgur wheat, minced lamb and beef with Middle Eastern spices, onions and pine nuts.
And my personal absolute favourite of all time, the Chicken Shawarma Meal.
Thin slices of marinated spit-roasted chicken, served with chips, humous, harissa, garlic sauce, Arabic bread, and salad.
If you can’t make it to Café Moor, here’s TFO’s favourite recipe for you to create the ultimate chicken shawarma sandwich at home.
(This is actually shawarma style, rather than genuine shawarma. For genuine shawarma, it needs to be cooked with stacked, spice-marinated meats– lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, or a mix of meats– on a vertical spit. The shawarma turns and cooks on the spit for hours and hours, basted in fat and its own juices. Thin slices of meat are then shaved from the surface and served, either on their own or tucked inside a warm flatbread, topped with tahini or garlic sauce).
Ingredients
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (4 large thighs)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne
Salt and black pepper
Nonstick cooking oil spray
You will also need
Grill or baking sheet, tongs, skillet, spatula, plastic wrap.
Instructions
1. Slice the chicken breasts into 5-6 pieces each and the thighs into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper (if you are salt sensitive, use 1/2 tsp of salt). Pour the spice marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade.
3. Cover the marinating dish with plastic wrap, or close the zipper bag. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking oil. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced.
5. Place the chicken in the oven. Let it roast for about 15 minutes until cooked through, turning the chicken pieces once with tongs halfway through cooking.
6. Take chicken out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Use a sharp knife to slice the meat into small, thin shawarma-like pieces.
7. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium. Pour half of the chicken into the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes till the smallest pieces of chicken turn brown and crisp. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
8. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet. Heat another 1 tbsp of oil and saute the remaining chicken in the same way. Serve warm.