Quick question on the Lebanese Kitchen

[Adam Balic]

I have been doing a little sniffing around Lebanese cuisine recently and have seen some very interesting recipes. One thing that occurs to me is that I can't recall preparations were whole

joints of meat are used, specifically in baked or roasted preparations.

I am sort of cooking a Lebanese meal on Friday and want to cook lamb. Normally, I would go with the kibbe, but I already have an interesting veg version lined up for this. So I looked for ways of cooking whole joints (in this instance a shoulder and two racks) and have so far struck out. Have I missed some well know recipes or are these not really part of the lebanese kitchen?

[chefzadi]

Quick answer, yes.

[Behemoth]

Quick answer, yes.

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I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Edited August 3, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[Behemoth]

Quick answer, yes.

←

I can't think of any off the top of my head.

←

edit: oops, wait. There is "mansaf", which is not so common in my family but is apparently a dish typical of the bekaa valley. (I've only had mansaf in Syria and Jordan, there are a couple of different styles. I can try to dig up a couple of recipes if you want.)

[chefzadi]

Quick answer, yes.

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I can't think of any off the top of my head.

←

I was kidding, I have no idea about Lebanese kitchens.

Whad do people do in areas where there aren't commercial butchers?

Even in France farmers cook larger cuts of meat, whole animals.

[chefzadi]

I can't think of any off the top of my head.

←

[Adam Balic]

I would appreciate any recipes.

At the moment I am thinking of stuffing a shoulder of lamb with walnuts, tomato, barberries and spice, then slowly cooking it until it is grey and oxidized. Not very Lebanese

Racks of lamb will be fast roasted to keep them pink and juicy, basic flavours of lemon, galric, sumac and mint. Unless there are some suggestions. No pressure.

Feeling guilty about playing about with the cuisine without any real understanding of it.

[Behemoth]

Feeling guilty about playing about with the cuisine without any real understanding of it.

←

Meh, I do it all the time.

I'll check good ol' chef ramzi and attempt a translation. Corrections welcome.

[Behemoth]

Okay, this book is nice in that you will probably find listed 90+% of the dishes you might see in Lebanon. The book is bad in that he is very vague when it comes to writing down actual recipes.

I should preface this by saying the Jordanian mansaf includes a type of dried yogurt which does not seem to be used in the Lebanese versions. You can find recipes for the Jordanian recipe pretty easily online as it is one of their more famous dishes.

Anyway, ramzi gives two recipes, one for a whole baby lamb or goat, about 8 to 10 kilo. The second recipe is for a thigh (presumably top end of the leg?) weighing approx 2 kilo bone included.

I will give you the second version as it might be marginally more useful to you given what you have.

Ingredients:

- 1 leg of lamb, approx 2 kilo

- 2 kilo coarse bulgar or "frik" (what exactly is this stuff? It is some sort of "rubbed" grain, I assume wheat. since you probably won't be able to find it, let's stick with the bulgar.)

- 1 cup finely chopped onion

- 1 tbsp mashed garlic

- 1 cup veg oil or samneh (ghee probably fine)

- So you can choose to either brown the leg first and then boil it to get a broth, or roast the leg and use some extra bones to make a broth. I would assume there are other aromatics in the brtoh though he doesn't specify. Set the broth aside.

- heat the fat and then add onion, and then the garlic. When the onion is golden, add the grain, stir it around so that the grain is coated and then: add the spices.

Not that he has listed what the spices are or in what quantities, but on the page are photographs of cinnamon, bay leaves, nutmeg, and cardamom seeds, so presumably these are involved in some way.

- you then cover the grains with the broth. When the surface of the broth starts bubbling, cover the pot and turn down the flame, or put the pot in a slow oven. The goal is so that the frik has a chance to soften completely.

To serve, put the grain in a large shallow platter, top with the roasted leg, then decorate with browned pine nuts, fried skinned almonds, and boiled peeled (fustuk -- he doesn't specify but presumably he means pistachio?)

On the side, you serve yogurt, and a sauce made from a flour/butter roux to which the rest of the broth (and some more spices, apparently...) are added.

There ya go, make of it what you will, and let me know how it turns out.

BTW, in the photo the dish is also decorated with parsley, radish roses and flowers cut out of lemons (to be honest they look more like limes) & tomatoes. Very pretty.

Oh, the "whole lamb" version is similar, except that the spices pictured (though of course not listed) are cumin seeds, what looks to be paprika, cloves and some sort of powder -- possibly just the typical lebanese spice mix. Also, this one uses rice instead of bulgar.

edited to add some forgotten info.

Edited August 3, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[FoodMan]

I would also say that cooking whole joints of meat or even big chunks is not that popular in Lebanon from my experience. Meat is either cubed and skewered, minced and made into kibbi or kafta, or cut up and added to stewes.

Mansaf is probably the only dish that I know of (but never tried) that uses a whole animal or a large joint.

Elie

[FoodMan]

I would appreciate any recipes.

At the moment I am thinking of stuffing a shoulder of lamb with walnuts, tomato, barberries and spice, then slowly cooking it until it is grey and oxidized. Not very Lebanese

Racks of lamb will be fast roasted to keep them pink and juicy, basic flavours of lemon, galric, sumac and mint. Unless there are some suggestions. No pressure.

Feeling guilty about playing about with the cuisine without any real understanding of it.

←

Adam-

your dishes might not be truely Lebanese, but I am sure if they taste good no one will give a hoot.

Elie

[Adam Balic]

Okay, this book is nice in that you will probably find listed 90+% of the dishes you might see in Lebanon. The book is bad in that he is very vague when it comes to writing down actual recipes.

I should preface this by saying the Jordanian mansaf includes a type of dried yogurt which does not seem to be used in the Lebanese versions. You can find recipes for the Jordanian recipe pretty easily online as it is one of their more famous dishes.

Anyway, ramzi gives two recipes, one for a whole baby lamb or goat, about 8 to 10 kilo. The second recipe is for a thigh (presumably top end of the leg?) weighing approx 2 kilo bone included.

I will give you the second version as it might be marginally more useful to you given what you have.

Ingredients:

- 1 leg of lamb, approx 2 kilo

- 2 kilo coarse bulgar or "frik" (what exactly is this stuff? It is some sort of "rubbed" grain, I assume wheat. since you probably won't be able to find it, let's stick with the bulgar.)

- 1 cup finely chopped onion

- 1 tbsp mashed garlic

- 1 cup veg oil or samneh (ghee probably fine)

- So you can choose to either brown the leg first and then boil it to get a broth, or roast the leg and use some extra bones to make a broth. I would assume there are other aromatics in the brtoh though he doesn't specify. Set the broth aside.

- heat the fat and then add onion, and then the garlic. When the onion is golden, add the grain, stir it around so that the grain is coated and then:  add the spices.

Not that he has listed what the spices are or in what quantities, but on the page are photographs of cinnamon, bay leaves, nutmeg, and cardamom seeds, so presumably these are involved in some way. 

- you then cover the grains with the broth. When the surface of the broth starts bubbling, cover the pot and turn down the flame, or put the pot in a slow oven. The goal is so that the frik has a chance to soften completely.

To serve, put the grain in a large shallow platter, top with the roasted leg, then decorate with browned pine nuts, fried skinned almonds, and boiled peeled (fustuk -- he doesn't specify but presumably he means pistachio?)

On the side, you serve yogurt, and a sauce made from a flour/butter roux to which the rest of the broth (and some more spices, apparently...) are added.

There ya go, make of it what you will, and let me know how it turns out.

BTW, in the photo the dish is also decorated with parsley, radish roses and flowers cut out of lemons (to be honest they look more like limes) & tomatoes. Very pretty.

Oh, the "whole lamb" version is similar, except that the spices pictured (though of course not listed) are cumin seeds, what looks to be paprika, cloves and some sort of powder -- possibly just the typical lebanese spice mix. Also, this one uses rice instead of bulgar.

edited to add some forgotten info.

←

Hey that is great thank you. The other thing I was considering was another medieval Arabic dish called "Mahshuwwat" (plural of mahshu "stuffed"), so I reckon I can bastardize the two recipes (shoulder already ordered, otherwise I would get a leg and stick to that).

[Adam Balic]

Adam-

your dishes might not be truely Lebanese, but I am sure if they taste good no one will give a hoot.

Elie

←

Except me. But I'm sure I'll get over it.

[Adam Balic]

Almass - I have PMed you.

Behemoth - thank you very much for your posts on this thread and others, I have very much appreciated them.

Bligmy, I though we Croatians were bit grumpy.

Maybe I will make sandwich instead

[anzu]

- 2 kilo coarse bulgar or "frik" (what exactly is this stuff? It is some sort of "rubbed" grain, I assume wheat. since you probably won't be able to find it, let's stick with the bulgar.)

I've seen it also transliterated as fareeka, if that helps (and no, I don't want to start one of those 'what is it's correct pronunciation' type topics).

It's wheat that is harvested while still green, a fire is lit under it while still in the field, and it roasted on the spot. What you get is a cracked dried out wheat that is greenish-gold in color, with blackish bits in it from the roasting process. It is smoky and simultaneously fresh-tasting.

It is a bit of a nuisance to prepare, as you have to sort through it before cooking and pull out any overly burnt bits, little bits of stone, large chunks of wheat stalk, etc. The taste makes it worthwhile, though.

I keep it stored in the fridge to make sure it stays fresh.

It's not usually all that hard to find. It's often stacked right next to bulgur in grocery stores selling 'Mediterranean' ingredients. I don't think I have ever seen it actually labelled, though, so you might have to ask if in doubt. The color and the little burnt bits do make it quite easy to recognize once you know what to look for!

If you like smoky tasting foods, it's definitely worth looking out for.

[Adam Balic]

I actually found some roasted green wheat from Saudi Arabia, couldn't work out if it was the same.