Tumbleweed stew (Yakhnet akkoub)
This delicious stew is one of the traditional dishes made with this wild vegetable; my grandmother used to prepare it this way and so do lots of folks here. Just sauté the akkoub (tumbleweed) in some olive oil with plenty of chopped onions and garlic, cook the stew meat separately,...
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Gundelia (Akkoub)
Pluck its thorny leaves and this is indeed akkoub, a prized (by many) wild vegetable; also known as tumbleweed, cardon (French), or gundelia. Apparently this wild vegetable’s recent claim to fame is that its grains were identified by researchers on the shroud of Turin. I got three recipes from...
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Wild vegetable
Plucked at high altitude (over 3000 feet) in the Shouf mountains in Lebanon, this vegetable is wild and highly prized for its exquisite taste. (it is also supposed to be full of antioxidants) Anybody care to guess or know its name? The answer (and a recipe) will be given...
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Fresh chickpeas
This is a bunch of fresh chickpeas sold everywhere these days on the side of the road. Street cart vendors used to call on customers with a jingle that went like this: Um Elaibaneh (Mother elaibaneh) Khodra w-malieaneh (green and full) bet salleh al-za3laneh(will cheer up whoever is angry)...
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Lamb confit (Awarma)
Awarma is the word used to indicate bits of lamb preserved in lamb fat; it is usually prepared in rural areas and the jars are used up throughout the year to flavor one dish or another; the fat used is from the lamb tail and that variety of lamb...
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Tawlet Ammiq
Last Sunday was the grand opening of Tawlet Ammiq, Kamal Mouzawak‘s latest venture. The restaurant is located in the Bekaa Valley, nudged between the village of Ammiq and a mountain range with a bird’s eye view of the valley beyond. The restaurant and village of Ammiq sit on a...
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Rice and fava beans
The fava beans have been ubiquitous lately; every street vendor, every greengrocer, is carrying mounds of freshly picked fava beans. Some are large (stalks are about 7 inches long) and get plucked open, seeds eaten and pods discarded; others are tiny (about 3 to 4 inches long) and get...
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Meat fingers with sour cherry sauce (Fishneyov khorovatz)
A dish that is listed in Armenian cuisine and that I had sampled a couple of times and liked very much. I saw some tiny cherries at the greengrocer and figured “now or never!”. In the book, sour cherries are used and made into a compote. Since getting wild...
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Eggs poached in tomato sauce (Bayd bel-banadoora)
Proof that simple is best. Eggs are poached in a tomato sauce made with lots of onions, ripe tomatoes and some garlic; scooped up with pita bread. A mouthwatering luncheon or brunch item from the Lebanese rural cuisine. INGREDIENTS: 8 eggs, size small (depending on the size of the...
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