My association with legumes is wisdom, harmony and strength of the earth. We will not talk about beans, because in these parts their preparation has been brought to perfection.
Shall we go to distant places again? We can also ride a camel. Kosher is a dish that was revealed to me by my very young but very educated friend Iva. It has a long tradition and is one of the most popular national dishes in Egypt.
It is made from lentils. It is soft, soothing and easy to digest. There are several types (brown, red, green) and any will do.
It is prepared as follows: boil 100 g of lentils, rice and pasta and drain.
Sauce: fry half a hot pepper and crushed garlic in oil, add 400 g of diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, a tablespoon of vinegar and salt. Cook for a few minutes, then gently stir for a few more minutes.
Onions are caramelized: onion rings are fried in a little oil until they become dark and crispy. Lentils, rice and pasta are placed in individual serving bowls. Tomato sauce is poured over them, and caramelized onions are placed on top. Serve alone or with fried vegetables.
Hummus is said to be the most famous spread in the Middle East. Country of origin – Lebanon.
The main ingredient of hummus is chickpeas, and the mandatory seasoning is tahini - sesame cream (available in health food stores, and sometimes in supermarkets).
300 g of chickpeas are soaked overnight with a bay leaf, then boiled and salted towards the end of cooking. If the skins are separated on the surface, remove them and leave 2-3 dl of the soup from cooking.
Grind the chickpeas in a blender, with the addition of olive oil and about 1,5 dl of the soup in which they were cooked, to obtain a smooth cream.
4-5 cloves of garlic are crushed in the avan, with a little salt, until it becomes a white cream.
In a separate container, mix 4-5 spoons of tahini with 1,5 dl of lemon juice.
All this is mixed into chickpea puree, salted and peppered with freshly ground pepper.
Fry roughly chopped peanuts (1 handful), cashews or pistachios in a small pan with a little olive oil. Hummus is served spread thinly on a plate, not in a bowl.
It is spread, then make furrows with a fork. Just before serving, heat 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and pour into the grooves.
Sprinkle with peanuts, roughly sliced black olives (5-6 pieces), chopped mint leaves.
In the original, it is served with pita bread. You can toast our ordinary bread, invite your dear friends and travel to Lebanon in good company on a wave of phenomenal aromas.
Balance Institute
Bonus video:
