16 Wednesday, 10 October 2007 London Lite

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THIS weekend marks the Mus-lim festival of Eid al-Fitr —the end of Ramadan duringwhich Muslims observe astrict fast during daylight andenjoy a time of spiritual

renewal and charity. The festival of fast-breaking is a three-day celebration ofprayer and huge meals. With so muchdelicious food on offer, why not join in?Of course, there are plenty of Punjabi,Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Malaysianrestaurants with amazing dishes for Eid,but here are some of thebest Middle Easternrestaurants for garlickygrilled meats, salads glis-tening with pomegranateseeds, smoky auberginedips, sesame-seed hum-mous and flatbreads.

FAKHRELDINETHIS Lebanese restaurantis the place to see and beseen. Rosewater-scentedfruit cocktails, mezze andfine meshwi (grilled meat)keep the Mayfair sethappy and this Eid, awhole roast lamb is avail-able to order 48 hours inadvance (£350). There willalso be a set menu of roastlamb, rice, minced lamb,gravy and Eid dessert (£20pp) and belly-dancing Thursday to Saturday.85 Piccadilly, W1 (020 7493 3424)

FAIRUZA CLASSIC restaurant, pictured above,Fairuz is named after Lebanese music’sanswer to Madonna. All the usual flour-ishes: bowls of crisp, brightly colouredsalad, bread and juicy olives served asstandard (with a £1.50 cover charge) butthe friendly service and the expert cook-

ing is among the best. From the mezzemenu, smoked aubergine, broad beandips and pickled aubergine with nuts aremouthwatering (£7.95). For a maincourse, try juicy lamb kufta pittas withspicy potatoes and baba ganouj.3 Blandford Street, W1 (020 7486 8182)

ALWAHAALL the charm but none of the pretence

of some competitors.Mohammed Bader Aldenhas successfully striven tocreate authentic food,faithful to Lebanese andSyrian traditions. Plentyof treats this weekendbringing in a huge selec-tion of sweets and moun-tains of fette. Dinner fortwo, excluding drinks, isaround £30.75 Westbourne Grove,W2 (020 7229 0806)

NOURAT H E S E w o n d e r f u lLebanese restaurants willset you back a bob or twobut the à la carte dishesare faultless. The menu

surpasses those of its contemporarieswith dishes such as marinated lambtartare and silver mullet fish roe raisingthe bar. Chef Badiha Asmar recom-mends kafta khashkhash (£14.50). Thesweet-toothed should try atayef (£4.50). 16 Hobart Place, SW1 (0207 235 9444)Make sure to book ahead.

MAROUSH ITHE original and, many believe, still thebest of the Maroush empire. This is oneof only two outlets that offer live music

BY DAISY DUMAS

Crumble: healthier than apple pie

APPLE PIE AND CREAM500 cals ........................25% GDA25g fat ....................................36% 18g saturated fat ..................90%2g fibre .....................................8%

Healthy rating: 2/10APPLE AND BLACKBERRY CRUMBLEWITH CUSTARD350 cals ..................................18%10g fat.....................................14%5g saturated fat ....................25%6g fibre...................................25%

Healthy rating: 6/10

Stilton1 ingredient 2 ways

APPLE crumble first becamea popular alternative to applepie in Britain during theSecond World War when, dueto rationing, flour, sugar andfat were all in short supplyand it was more economical tomake a crumble topping thanpastry. Now that flour, sugarand fat are no longer in shortsupply, apple crumble is still agood alternative to pie, partlybecause it’s so delicious, butalso because, as it requiresless fat and sugar, it’shealthier. To make a healthycrumble, you need to go heavyon the fruit and light on thecrumble. Adding oats to thecrumble mix will help toreduce the glycaemic index(GI), which means sugar isabsorbed into the bloodstreammore slowly. It will also raise

the fibre content. Anothertasty and simple way to boost the dish’s nutritionalvalue is to add someblackberries. Blackberries arefull of health-promotingantioxidants and fat, juicyhomegrown blackberries arein season for the next coupleof weeks, so make the most of

them while they are around.On the question of what toserve with crumble, lashingsof thick double cream or adollop of crème fraiche wouldbe a very tempting option, butto keep it healthy choosecustard made with semi-skimmed milk, or low-fatGreek yogurt. FIONA HUNTER

IN HONOUR of British Cheese Weekthis week, here are two recipes usingone of Britain’s favourite cheeses.VEGGIE LUNCHSTILTON-TOPPED MUSHROOMS(SERVES 4)Preparation time: 20minutes ● 12 large flat mushrooms ● 50g/2oz butter ● 2 shallots, finely chopped ● 25g/1oz fresh white breadcrumbs● 175g/6oz Stilton cheese

PREHEAT the oven to 180C/350F/gasmark 4. Remove thestalks from themushrooms andchop finely. Melthalf the butter ina saucepan, addthe chopped stalksand shallots and frygently until soft. Removefrom the heat, season andstir in the breadcrumbs and

crumbled cheese. Butter a shallowovenproof dish, put in the mushroomcaps and divide the Stilton mixturebetween them. Bake for 15-20minutes.BLOKEY SUPPERSTILTON STEAKS (SERVES 4)Preparation time: 20mins ● 4 fillet or sirloin steaks ● 100g/4oz Stilton, crumbled ● 25g/1oz softened butter ● 50g/2oz walnuts, finely chopped ● Black pepper

SEASON the steaks and grill for 3-10minutes, according to how rare you

like them. Put the Stilton into abowl, add the butter, walnuts

and pepper and mix well.Spread the mixture overeach steak and grilluntil bubbling.

Recipes courtesy ofrecipes4us.co.uk

As Ramadan draws to aclose, here are the bestplaces for an exotic feast

Classic Lebanese: Fairuz, W1

Middle