Lebanese cuisine is the most popular in the Middle East. Many dishes can be classified as healthy food, since meat, poultry, fresh fish and seafood, vegetables, and legumes are used for cooking, which are processed by baking or boiling.
Lebanese cuisine is characterized by the use of lamb, veal, goat meat, and poultry. Muslim Arabs do not eat pork. Dishes of fish, eggs, vegetables, rice, lactic acid products are popular. Food is cooked in vegetable oil, mainly olive oil. Onions, peppers, aromatic herbs are used in large quantities. Traditional dishes are meat soups with rice and beans, kibbi (meat dish), porridge made from bulgur cereals - durum wheat treated with boiling water, dried and steamed. Bread is always served with the meal. Popular drinks include tea, unsweetened coffee with spices, sour milk, and sweets - halva, candied fruits.
Try one of the popular Lebanese dishes - kibbi. For this you will need:
- lean meat (minced meat) - 500 g;
- bulgur (durum wheat groats) - 2, 5 tbsp.;
- cinnamon - 0.5 tsp;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- a mixture of vegetable and butter - 0.5 tbsp.;
- allspice ground pepper - 0.5 tsp;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- butter - 1/4 tbsp.
For filling:
- minced meat - 500 g;
- onions - 2 pcs.;
- drain oil - 1 tbsp.;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- ground allspice - 0.5 tsp;
- fried pine nuts - 1 tbsp.;
- black pepper.
Make the filling. Simmer the onions in butter over low heat. Then add minced meat, salt, pepper, fry the mixture for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, put the pine nuts in the filling and stir.
Soak the bulgur, and when it swells, fold it onto a sieve. Mix the minced meat and chopped onions, add bulgur, knead the mixture with your hands. Then mix with a mixer, salt and pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands again. Divide it into 8 equal parts, roll balls from each.
Use four balls to make thick tortillas and place them on a greased baking sheet. Place the filling on each of them. Cover them with cakes made from the remaining balls. Place a piece of butter on top of each. Place the dish in an oven preheated to 200 ° C for half an hour.
The baked kibby is served hot.
To prepare Lebanese stewed eggplant, you will need the following products:
- eggplant - 1 kg;
- chickpeas (canned or boiled) - 1 tbsp.;
- tomatoes - 1 kg;
- onions - 2 pcs.;
- garlic - 16 cloves;
- dried mint - 2 tablespoons;
- rast. oil - 2 tbsp.;
- chili pepper - 1 pc.;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- a little sugar.
Wash the eggplants, cut off the stalk, cut them into slices lengthwise, salt and leave for half an hour. Then rinse, dry and sauté in oil, while it should cover the slices completely. Pat dry with a paper towel. In the same oil, fry the chopped garlic (10 cloves) and onion rings. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, sugar, chili, salt. When the mixture boils, boil it for 5 minutes, add the eggplants, cover and simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes.
Combine the mint with the remaining chopped garlic. Season the dish with the mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove the chili. You can serve eggplants to the table.
Chill the eggplant before serving it.
Make a Lebanese specialty - a puree soup made from rice, tomatoes and bell peppers. You will need the following products:
- tomatoes - 80 g;
- rice - 30 g;
- cream - 40 g;
- egg yolk - 1 pc.;
- sweet pepper - 40 g;
- butter - 10 g;
- salt.
For the white sauce:
- milk - 250 ml;
- butter - 20 g;
- flour - 20 g;
- pepper;
- salt.
Make a white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add flour, stir and save over low heat, stirring constantly. The flour should be golden brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and gradually add the milk. Then add salt, spices, stir and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce for 3 minutes.
Boil rice. Peel the seeds and stalks of the pepper, bake it in the oven until tender. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, remove the skin, cut into slices, simmer in a skillet until soft. Then refrigerate, mix with rice. Use a blender to puree the mixture.
Pour in white sauce, add baked peppers, cut into strips, butter, cream, chopped egg yolk, salt and stir. The dish is ready.
