Are there any Middle Eastern dishes which contain pork?

Question

I know that many people from the Middle East are Muslims and follow the Halal diet which excludes pork but there are also Middle Eastern and Arab people who are not Muslims and/or are Christians, thus they can eat anything including pork.

Answer 1

only religious Muslims,Jews , and Chrisitians would not eat pork if given the choice. Secular people will eat pork. Secular influenced  cities in Israel like Tel Aviv and Haifa have many restaurants and grocery stores have pork and shelfish products available. More secular places in the Muslim countries have pork products available, such as Beirut in the Lebanon or in Istanbul, Turkey.

Answer 2

In reality anybody can eat anything they like ..

Both the bible and the koran set up a number of rules for life, that made perfect sense when they were written. Trouble is, they only put the rules in the book, not the explanation. Mainly because the entire "because"-section would take up WAY too much space in the respective book, and make it much harder to read.  

The original reason for excluding pork in middle eastern diet (christian, jewish or muslim) is, that pork rots very easily - much quicker than other types of meat.

Where f.ex. beef only gets nice, tender and chewable, when bacteria breaks down the cells, pork actually goes bad!  

However with todays possibilities in refrigeration and knowledge about food hygene, excluding pork really is no longer necessary. Except because it says so in the book.

And for obvious reasons none of the books say "if someone invents procedures, tools and mashines, that can make pork safe to eat, disregrad the above rule".

.. one would think a good, all-knowing God would be able to foresee what could happen in the future, so I still believe the books were filled with the (at the time) very wise thoughts of men, but not the words of gods ...

Answer 3

Roast pork tenderloin with pears and dried apricots.

   1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 teaspoons Ras el Hanout

5 ripe pears, peeled, cored, each cut into 6 wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

9 ounces dried apricots, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 teaspoons Ras el Hanout

5 ripe pears, peeled, cored, each cut into 6 wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

9 ounces dried apricots,

Added To Shopping List!Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons ras el hanout and stir 1 minute. Add pears and sauté until tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Transfer pears to plate.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same pot over medium heat. Add onion and apricots. Sauté until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add broth and honey. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 8 minutes. Return pears to pot. Remove from heat. (Sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Mix remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 2 teaspoons ras el hanout in small bowl to blend. Rub mixture all over pork tenderloins. Transfer pork to roasting pan. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 155°F, about 30 minutes. Transfer pork to cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, reheat sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Divide pork among 6 plates. Spoon sauce and pears over pork. Sprinkle with almonds