I spent most of my formative years in the village of Send in the county of Surrey. In those days it was a quiet country village with typical local grocer, butcher and smithy. My father used to go on shopping expeditions to London's Soho, where he could load up with exotic foods like Olive Oil, Tahina, Hummus, Halawa and Olives, none of which could be purchased anywhere in the vicinity of Send. Nowadays Send is but a few miles from the infamous M25, and doubtless you can buy anything from Mangoes to Lemon Grass.

My mother used to cook an unusual mix of English and Lebanese foods, so from a young age I was used to such dishes as Hummus bi Tahina, Tabbouleh and Maddudara. Although I was somewhat of a fussy eater, I loved all these Lebanese dishes, and have cooked them for myself and my friends ever since I went to University. If you haven't yet tried them, I urge you to have a go. Lebanese food is among the most tasty and addictive anywhere in the world.

Tabbouleh is a salad made with Burghul, or Bulgar Wheat. This is partially pre-cooked, so only needs soaking in water before use. The blend of fine chopped ingredients soaks into the burghul to produce one of the most 'moreish' foods I know. This dish always disappears fast, no matter how much you make, and everyone likes it.

Ingredients: (for 4 people) 4 ounces Burghul, 1 pound tomatoes, 1/2 cucumber, 6 spring onions, large bunch of parsley, olive oil, 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Soak the burghul in cold water for a few hours, and drain well by squeezing handfuls of it (try it, its OK). Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and parsley very finely (you can use a food processor, but I prefer to do this by hand). Mix with the burghul, olive oil to taste, juice of the lemon and salt and pepper. You can vary the proportions and ingredients, but the tomatoes, parsley and lemon are crucial. Fresh mint makes a good addition to the parsley. You can save time by using warm water to soak the burghul, but don't use boiling water or it will make it too soft. Preferably prepare a few hours before eating, and serve cool but not cold.

Hummus bi Tahina , or more commonly just "Hummus", is a puree made from Chick Peas (Hummus) and Tahina paste, which consists of ground sesame seeds. It has become ubiquitous these days, and makes a very tasty starter, dip, or accompaniment to other Lebanese or Greek dishes. Traditionally it is eaten with Lebanese flat bread, or Greek Pitta.

Ingredients: (for 4 people) 1 tin of chick peas, 2 tablespoons tahina, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 lemon, salt, cayenne pepper, little water.

Blend the chick peas with a little water and the juice from the lemon. Add the tahina, garlic and salt and blend well. The trick is to get the right balance of tahina, garlic, lemon and salt. Remember that tahina makes it richer, lemon (and to some extent garlic) helps balance the richness, and salt balances the lemon.

You can drizzle a little olive oil over the hummus, and sprinkle with cayenne pepper. My mother liked to reserve a few chick peas to decorate the finished dish.

This easy recipe produces a smooth, fairly runny version which is similar to the blend you find in the supermarkets. When I have time, I still like to make it as my mother did, by soaking and slow cooking dried chick peas (you can use a presssure cooker). The purist will then spend a happy hour or so removing the skins from the cooked chick peas (but you can skip this). This home cooked hummus is not as soft as the tinned variety, and can be used to make a much thicker dish, more like a pate, with rather more of the chick pea flavour.

Lebanese restaurants like to make a version heavy on the tahina, which is rather rich for my taste, but you can experiment.

Kibbeh A tasty mixture of minced lamb and burghul. It comes is many versions, this Kibbeh bil Sanieh (in a tray) is the easiest.

Ingredients: (for 4 people) 1 lb minced lamb, 4 oz burghul, 1 onion, 2 oz pine nuts, salt pepper and cinnamon to taste.

To make the filling, chop and fry the onion in olive oil until soft, add a little of the minced lamb, the pine nuts, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Fry until the lamb is browned.

Soak the burghul and drain (as per Tabbouleh). Mix with the remaining lamb, add pepper and salt. Squish this mixture through your hands several times until smooth. Divide into two, and flatten out one half into a baking tray. Spread the filling evenly, then carefully cover with a second layer of the kibbeh mixture. Cut diagonal lines through both layers, and dab the top with a little butter if you like. Bake in a medium oven for around 40 mins. Can be eaten hot or cold, but I prefer hot. You can use beef instead of the lamb, but lamb is more authentic, and I prefer it.

The best Kibbeh are made as oval shaped balls, each one stuffed with the filling and sealed with a wet finger, then fried in olive oil. These are great, but very time consuming to make, and tricky - they can fall apart if you don't get them right.

Baba Ghanouzh a puree of Aubergine and Tahina, described by Claudia Roden as "exciting and vulgarly seductive". When I was at Churchill College, I dropped in on Jim Eels - a visiting US maths professor who was a friend of my brother's. The first thing he asked me was - "can you make Baba Ghanouzh".

Ingredients: (for 4 people) 1 large or 2 medium aubergines, 2 tablespoons tahina, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 lemon, salt, parsley.

Grill the aubergine until the skin blackens and blisters - ideally over a gas flame, or a BBQ. Leave to cool and remove the skin. Crush the garlic and salt, and blend with the aubergine. Slowly blend in the tahina (this will thicken) and the lemon juice. Add a little water if it seems too thick. Taste and adjust lemon juice and salt. Garnish with a dribble of olive oil and chopped parsley.

Cucumber and Yoghurt A popular light salad, (Cacik in Turkey, Tsatsiki in Greece, and Raitha in India).

Ingredients: (for 4 people) 1 Cucumber, 1 large carton of yoghurt (use low fat if you have to, but it doesn't taste as good), 1 tablespoon dried mint, 2 cloves garlic, salt to taste.

Dice the cucumber (peeled if you like) finely. Crush the garlic and mix with the cucumber mint, yoghurt and salt. Serve chilled.

If raw garlic us too much for you, leave it out.

In the rare occasions when we get some hot weather, I like to make a soup by adding milk and ice cubes - lovely and refreshing.

For more recipes, have a look at "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" by Claudia Roden.