Fasoolyah Beytha

Revised 11/13/10

Hi Jenni and Charisma! This is one of the easiest dishes to prepare or pronounce that I make (Fa SOOL yah Bey THAH). It means "white beans" in English. There are many variations on this soupy, rich and flavorful curry, depending upon who you are and where you're from, but this is how we do it around here. It's really simple to throw together, and has so few ingredients; it just works for us. Each time I whip this up, the Scientist insists it's the best I've ever made...ever (but I swear I stick to this formula)!

P.S. Someday I'll replace this awful photo. Ahem.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dry great northern beans
1 quart water, more if needed
3 Tbsp. salt

6-8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
1-2 quarts of water, more as needed
1/2 Tablespoon salt, or to taste
2-3 heaping Tablespoons madras curry, to taste (lately we love Rajah brand, mild, and no, they don't sponsor me!)
1 can tomato sauce, plus an optional 1-2 Tbsp. tomato paste, if desired

optional:
1/8 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
1-3 dashes cayenne pepper, to taste

1/2 white or vidalia onion, cut in 1 inch wedges

Preparation
Soak beans overnight in water with 3 Tbsp. salt. The next day, rinse the beans well, then cook in fresh water.

Bring water and beans to a boil over high heat in a 6 quart minimum pot. Reduce heat to medium high and boil until soft and fully cooked, approximately 45 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep beans from cooking dry.

When beans are tender, add salt, curry powder and chicken, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes or so, until chicken is cooked through. Add tomato sauce and simmer 10 more minutes. Add water if the levels gets too low.

Serving SuggestionServe over basmati rice, being sure to dish out a piece of chicken, soupy sauce and plenty of beans for everyone. By the time it's served the beans should be a beautiful golden color. And this looked crazy the first time I saw it, but it's great...put raw white or vidalia onion on the table, cut in thick wedges, and take a nibble (or chunk) with each bite of curried goodness. Beware, lovers and friends, this is potent stuff. You can always skip the onion, but it's soooooooo good!

I used to insist on using only Ship brand Madras curry powder, but alas, for some reason, it has become all but impossible to find. Now we use whatever brand we have on hand, but we're on the lookout for a new favorite.

Crock Pot Iraqi Daube

This is my streamlined and oh-so-easy version of the meltingly delicious Iraqi daube my mother-in-law taught me this Christmas. The Scientist has done repeated taste tests on the subsequent reincarnations of said daube, and this is our mutual favorite. When we can't get hers, that is. :o)

Crock Pot Iraqi Daube
2 1/2 lbs. boneless chuck roast
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1/4 tsp. whole allspice
1/4 tsp. whole cardamon seeds
1/8 tsp. whole peppercorns
2 oz. tomato paste (1/2 a 4 oz. can)
1 cup lower sodium beef broth (Swanson's is great)
1/2 tsp. salt, if desired

Generously season chuck roast with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then sear all sides of the meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer to a Crock Pot. Add all other ingredients.

Set the Crock Pot to "high" (300 F) and cook for 3 1/2 hours. That's it!

Serve with plenty of basmati rice for sure, and tabbouli if you're feeling especially kind. Otherwise a simple salad will suffice.

Good cooks'll tell ya: Be ye conservative with the spices. If I say 1/4 tsp, I don't mean a heaping 1/4 tsp. Which is difficult, I know, since unlike well-behaved (but boring) ground spices, whole spices tend to protrude in funny ways, but you'll work it out. I could tell a funny story about too many spices, but that would be telling...maybe later, if I get permission from the one who is essentially the subject of the humor.

Why You Might Choose This Recipe Over the Other One especially since my MIL's daube is awesome:

-First, mine is considerably more economical, since it uses chuck roast vs. leg of lamb.
-Second, chuck roast doesn't require any stabbing, peeling, pre-boiling, or other simple but time-consuming preparation.
-Third, it requires zero attention while cooking, as it's done in the Crock Pot.
-Fourth, it's scaled down to serve 4-5 adults vs. many many more.
-Fifth (and last), it's not just good, it's grrrrreat!!!! I mean it. And the leftovers are the stuff dreams are made of.

My suggestion: make this one first to see if you like it. If you enjoy the flavors and texture, try the other one. There's something truly wonderful about having a big 'ol beefy soup bone in your dish that is sacrificed in this recipe.

Truth be told, I never thought there would be a day when I'd stock ingredients like whole allspice, cloves, and cardamon, much less that I'd cook meat with them, but here you have it, folks. This is one of the nicest and easiest things I would ever serve an adventurous, meat-eating dinner guest. I'm afraid that my chicken-eating little sister Grover simply won't appreciate this one. Sigh. But my formerly vegetarian sister K-Rob just might. You never know when K-Rob's steely sense of adventure is going to triumph over plain crazy Grover (crazy in a very lovable, reassuringly stable, non-clinical way). By that I mean I'm sometimes surprised what K-Rob will eat (and enjoy) that Grover won't. That's what's cool about growing up and getting re-acquainted with your family. People I think I know just keep surprising me.

The moral of the story: try this daube. If you like pot roast and you like Middle Eastern flavors, you'll love this!

And Now, Presenting...

...drumroll please...

Marriage of Taste (!!!!!)

(cue band music, drop confetti, applause)

The contributing finalists in this friendly competition will receive a 6 oz. brick of Scharffen Berger Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate (Perfect for Baking) in their choice of 62 or 70% cacao. So Lori J. (Food with Flair...it is, rather!) and Joan M. (Kibbe et al...simultaneously cute and intelligent-sounding!), I'll be in contact with you to find out which % you'd prefer...If you need ideas on what to do with your newly acquired chocolate, check out www.epicurious.com or www.scharffenberger.com. Good stuff over there!



And now, dear readers, I have a confession to make. I feel quite sheepish as I write, and as though a fair-blogging rulebook should be thrown at me. You see, as you may have noticed, there were only two finalists awarded with chocolate, and as you will no doubt recollect, there were five distinct entries in the poll (audience murmurs, putting 2 + 2 together). Here's what happened: the Scientist and I were discussing good blog names one night before the competition began, and we both decided to enter it ourselves, just to see...and the entry which won the popular vote was, er, mine! And I didn't even vote for it! My husband says I'm weird for being upset that my own entry won, and I have to agree, in a weird sort of way. But he's used to it now, I think. Or at least, he's getting used to it. And I love him for it. So since tomorrow is his birthday, I'll whip something chocolaty up for him as his prize. As for me, well, I've got this newly-re-christened blog, I've got the Scientist, and *hopefully* you'll all keep reading, and that's more than enough for me.

Kubba, Unadorned

This is a large recipe which can either serve 12 hungry people or be frozen for later use.

Outer shell
6 cups basmati rice
2 pounds 93% lean ground beef
2 Tbsp. water
2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Soak rice overnight, then drain. In a food processor, grind rice until it is the consistency of coarse sand. Continue to blend while adding ground beef, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is well mixed and starts to stick together. Add salt and pepper, then adjust to taste.

Divide and shape the shell into into 60 or more balls of equal size.

Filling
1 pound 80% lean ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped (volume by cup)
1 teaspoon 7-spice powder*
1/2 -1 teaspoon salt

Assembly
Hollow out the balls of shell, creating pockets for the filling. Tuck a teaspoon of filling into each shell and close smoothly. Drop into boiling sauce of your choice and cook until kubba rise to the top, then at least 5 minutes more. Avoid over-boiling kubba so they don't break apart in the sauce.



Enjoy!

*Purchase in Middle Eastern markets. Can be substituted for a mixture of cumin, allspice and cloves.

Kubba Yachni

In the litany of kubba varieties, this one is our absolute, hands-down favorite. It's also known as kubba hummus, since chick peas are the defining ingredient. The sauce is a rich but light-colored lamb broth with tender, delicious chick peas, seasoned simply with onion, salt, and pepper. Mama showed me how to do this in April of '06 when we visited my in-laws in the Middle East. Since then, I've interviewed her, Aunty Seta and Aunt Suad at length about what goes in and what stays out, then gone out on a limb and experimented on my own. So far, according to the Scientist, this version is closest to the way it's supposed to be. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly, I can never be sure) around here, we prefer traditionalism to fusion. Go figure. Anyhow, let's get cooking!

Kubba Yachni
1 cup dry chick peas
9 cups water
1 lb. lamb shoulder with bone, fat trimmed
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt or more to taste
1 medium onion, quartered
1 tsp onion powder

12-16 prepared kibbe (recipe here)

Soak the chick peas overnight. Drain, then place in a large stock pot with fresh clear water, lamb and onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so.

Add salt and pepper and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste broth and adjust seasonings.

Return to a full boil, drop in the kibbe (about 12 at a time), and cook on high until they rise to the top of the pot, usually about 10-20 minutes, depending on their size. Boil for at least 5 more minutes, until the kibbe are fully cooked.

Accompany with a green salad and raw white onions. Serves 3-4.

Good cooks'll tell ya
Add salt to beans (chick peas and the like) after they're completely cooked. Otherwise, they just won't soften, even after hours of boiling. I think it has something to do with osmosis. Ask a biologist. Hmmm...speaking of biologists, I think I'll call my sister Grover (not her real name)!

P.S. If you prefer a leaner broth, make the sauce the day before and refrigerate it overnight. Before boiling the kubba, skim off the fat and re-trim the lamb.

Contest, continued.

Hi people! Thank you all so much for contributing your funny, interesting, erudite, and just plain clever entries. I had so much fun reading them that I think I will have contests all the time. Some of the entries were so funny I laughed until it was probably medicinal, so thanks. Really! But I found that while I enjoyed reading all your entries, I liked so many of them that I couldn't decide which one to pick. So, um, will you help some more? Just vote for your favorite title at the polling place on the left. Anyone can vote, just do it!

And by the way, if your entry appears in the poll, you will receive a runner-up prize for sure, and maybe the super-cool grand prize!

Daube!

Is that you, Homer?



After tasting my last pot roast, my Main Squeeze said, with a faraway look in his enormous brown eyes, "You know, you could learn daube...the flavor is different, but the consistency is the same." Such an insight couldn't go unheeded, and my in-laws were coming for the holidays, so I had my mission. But first I had to learn how to spell it. This recipe is Iraqi, and as Mama pointed out..."nobody makes this but Iraqis!" but the spelling of the word is French. I investigated to make sure I didn't call a pie a cake, and since a "daube" by definition is a stew made of red meat, I'm pretty sure I got it right. However, unlike this recipe, the French ones added veggies and the like to the pot.

A few tactical notes before beginning: One of my favorite places to get fresh, good quality leg of lamb is at a small local meat market, often located inside Middle Eastern grocery stores. The butcher will reserve a leg of lamb for me if I call ahead, and will trim much of the excess fat (a time consuming process) while I wait. The bummer is that you have to pay for the pre-trimmed weight, so shop around to get a good value. Beef is much more economical, but I'm still searching for a good way to get a lean piece of beef that will hold up to the long cooking time and that includes bone and marrow. Suggestions?

Add salt after the daube has boiled for an hour, which will enable it to tenderize properly. Add the tomato paste when there is about an hour before serving. I think adding the tomato paste towards the end helps keep the tomato flavor intact.

Iraqi Daube

Ingredients
4-5 lbs. leg of lamb with bone, cut by the butcher into 2-pound hunks, or 4-5 lbs. beef pot roast
2 bay leaves
1 tsp whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp cardamon seeds
1/4 tsp whole pepper corns
1 whole head of garlic, peeled
1 4 oz. can tomato paste
salt to taste

Roll call: Lamb, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cardamon, black peppercorns, whole allspice, cloves, a head of garlic, salt, and tomato paste (Tomato Paste was absent on picture day)

Wash and trim excess fat and silver membrane from the leg of lamb.

With a long, thin, sharp knife, gouge a deep hole into the meat for each garlic clove you'll later insert. Arrange pieces of lamb in dutch oven. Shown here is a pressure cooker, but we didn't pressurize this recipe. I suspect this would be a great crock pot recipe, and will post and update after trying.

Fill the pot with water to within 1 1/2 inches of the top of the meat. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove pot from heat, discard water, set the lamb aside, and scrub the scum out of the pot. Mama chooses to do this, despite some people's assertions that it weakens the flavor of the lamb. I initially was on the side of NOT throwing out the first boil, but after tasting the final product, decided the flavor was plenty fantastic, and there indeed was less meat scum to deal with.

Meanwhile, peel 9-10 garlic cloves.

After discarding the water, return the meat to the pot and push the garlic down into the knife holes made previously. Widen the holes if necessary.

Put the spices and the rest of the garlic into the pot, cover, boil hard for about 1 hour, then add salt.

Simmer for another hour.

Add tomato paste and simmer 1-2 more hours until you're ready to eat.

Serve hot over basmati rice with salad. Note: when eating Iraqi daube, there's nothing wrong with partaking of the delicate juiciness of marrow and cartilage, that is, if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a piece of the bone!

Serves 6-7.

True confession: when it came time to eat the daube, we dove in like little piggies before taking any photos. So the photo you see at the top is from my second try.