Maqaneq

Maqaneq are made by stuffing spiced minced meat into a casing of sheep intestine. The meat is usually a mix of lamb and beef. The casing is fried until the outside turns crisp, and they arrive hot, in small pieces. The spicing changes from place to place: pine nuts, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and vinegar are the usual ones.

Where the name comes from

The root of the name is not Arabic. The word naqaniq came through Aramaic from the Latin lucanica, which is to say it travelled from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. The dish is at least as old: the 10th-century Kitab al-Tabikh of the Abbasid writer Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq gives a whole chapter to recipes for laqaniq.

How it is served

Among the mezze plates, or in a sandwich. The traditional way is with pomegranate molasses poured over the fried pieces, which cuts the fat of the meat. Pickles come alongside. A plate is not a meal on its own; it sits on the table with hummus, mutabbal and bread.

Ordering it

Good maqaneq are crisp outside and juicy inside, and standing on the pass takes both away, so asking for them hot is fair. The weight of the spicing varies, with cinnamon and cloves forward in some kitchens. Asking what the meat is — lamb, beef or a mix — is a reasonable question too.