Mideast Piece

Were you wondering how to make a Lebanese Couscous to knock the socks off that certain someone you’ve been trying to impress? Look no further than this expert recipe, courtesy of our friends at AHBAB:

This dish is entirely unlike North African couscous. In the first place, the grains are quite large, more like small peas than the tiny fluffy grains of Tunisian or Moroccan couscous. In the second, the fiery flavors of North African couscous are missing from this preparation, which relies on warm, rounded Middle Eastern aromatics, like cinnamon and cumin, offset by cooling cilantro. The dried chickpeas need to soak overnight, so plan accordingly.

SERVINGS: 6 TO 8

1 cup dried chickpeas (7 ounces), soaked overnight
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 4-pound chicken
Two 1-pound lamb shanks
1 1/2 pounds pearl onions, peeled
3 small cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
Kosher salt
1 pound maghrabiyeh couscous
Boiling water
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cumin
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Lemon wedges and toasted pita triangles, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, cover the chickpeas with 1 inch of water and stir in the baking soda. Let soak overnight.

2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil, skimming as necessary. Cook the chickpeas over low heat until very tender, about 40 minutes. Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

3. In a food processor, puree all but 3/4 cup of the chickpeas until smooth; add some of the reserved cooking liquid if the puree is dry. Add the tahini and lemon juice and process until satiny. Add more of the reserved cooking liquid until the consistency is that of sour cream. Transfer the hummus to a bowl.

4. Remove the skins from the reserved chickpeas. Mash the garlic with the salt until smooth. Stir the garlic into the hummus and transfer to a shallow bowl. Add the parsley to the olive oil and drizzle it over the hummus. Garnish with the whole peeled chickpeas and serve.

MAKE AHEAD: The chickpeas can be cooked 1 day ahead and refrigerated.

NOTES: Good tahini (sesame paste) has a sweet, nutty flavor without a trace of bitterness. Be sure to stir any separated oil back into the tahini before measuring.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 30th, 2007 at 8:33 am and is filed under Art, Dating, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.