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Does it really need an introduction? I could perhaps list the various ways people spell the “best salad in the world”, but I haven’t met anyone so far who hasn’t heard of tabbouleh! Whether it’s tabouleh, tabbouleh, tabouli, taboli, or any other variation… the taste and the aroma and the nutritious value are still the same!
I always get asked for a recipe for tabbouleh, but to be honest, I’ve never really followed a recipe… to me, it’s a lot of parsley, a lot of tomatoes, a bit of mint, finely chopped onions, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper… give it a good mix, get the hubby and the kids to taste test… remind them that this is only a taste test and not a feast! (and then chop some more to refill the bowl in preparation for dinner after all the tasting and the adjustments!).
It is so easy to make, and although it’s made out of very simple ingredients, it is still relatively versatile. The traditional Tabbouleh is made with Italian parsley, fresh mint, truss tomatoes, brown onion, bulgur wheat, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and seasoning to taste. But I’ve seen (and I’ve made) some tabbouleh with variations in the ingredients such as curly parsley, spring onion or red onion, lime juice, and quinoa as a replacement for bulgur.
This super delicious dish not only looks good but tastes amazing too. It does take quite a long cooking time, but to be fair it’s relatively easy to make because all you have to do is set aside some time for prep, then place it in the oven for about 1 hour and a half and it’ll slowly develop delicious flavours while you could be off doing something else.
When the cooking’s done and your kitchen and home (and possibly your entire neighbourhood) are filled with the appetizing smell of your lamb roast, all you need to do is prepare your carving set and carve away!
To cook a succulent lamb roast, you could either use lamb shoulder or lamb leg. Both would turn up nice and juicy, however, the lamb leg is nicer because it has more meat so will be easier to carve and yields bigger pieces of meat.
To prep the meat, make small incisions using a sharp knife all over the meat to create small cavities (remember to turn it over and make incisions in the back as well).
Fill the cavities with rosemary and peeled garlic (if your garlic is too large you could slice them and use garlic slivers instead). When you’re done, rub the meat all over generously with olive oil, and then add salt and pepper. You can also sprinkle some dried thyme on top.
It’s best you let it marinate overnight in the fridge however if you’re unable to do it then you can still roast it after marinating. Let it sit for about an hour at room temperature then roast it.
(Note: If you wish to marinate overnight, wrap the meat tightly in film and place it in the fridge.)
When you’re ready to cook the meat, place the roast on a roasting tray placed inside a large baking tray. This will allow you to collect the juices of the roast in the baking tray and you might wish to cook with them, make a gravy, or discard them at the end of the roasting.
I like to roast some onions, garlic, and potatoes in the lamb juices, so I usually add them underneath the lamb, inside the baking tray.
Place your roast in an oven pre-heated to 200 °C, and let it roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes for medium. Increase the cooking time by 15 minutes or more to achieve your desired doneness of the meat if you don’t like to serve it and eat it pink. When the cooking time has finished, turn on the broiler in your oven and let the roast sit there for about 5 minutes (Make sure you’re watching it the whole time though to prevent the meat from burning!). This step is very important because it’ll allow the top layer of the roast to crisp up and change into a beautiful golden colour.
Take the roast out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. Take out the roasted potatoes, garlic and onions from the roasting pan and drain off any excess fat while the meat is resting.
To serve, carve the meat with a sharp carving knife and cut thin slices of the meat. Serve alongside the roasted potatoes and garlic and onions. Bon appétit!
This dish is one of my childhood favourites, and the first couple of times I made it for my kids they absolutely loved it, now they constantly ask for it so I find myself cooking it as often as once every fortnight.
You’re going to love this dish, yes it’s relatively easy to make but it’s packed full of flavour. There’s the sweetness of the peas, the richness of the sauce, and the tasty spices, you can taste it all in this moreish dish.
I start by prepping the ingredients – the picture below summarizes the ingredient list (Salt, sweet paprika, turmeric, seven spices, garlic, onions, carrots, and frozen green peas), and we will need to add the lamb cubes. You could also substitute the lamb with beef meat if you prefer.
Worth noting that the original recipe calls for the use of tomato paste, however, the high acidity of this particular ingredient has been triggering acid reflux in some of my family members, so I choose to omit it where I can and find a replacement for it. For my recipe, I’m using a teaspoon of sweet paprika instead of tomato paste, its subtle flavour and beautiful colour enhance the taste and the appearance of the dish by slightly colouring the sauce.
Also, turmeric is optional in this recipe, it certainly did not feature in the traditional Lebanese recipe, however, I like to sneak in a teaspoon or so of freshly grated or thinly sliced turmeric where I can! It’s a good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant source, and if used in small quantities it won’t really change the taste of the dish! You might want to wear some gloves though before you handle turmeric because it’ll taint your finger/fingernails for a couple of days! My little son got really worried the first time he looked at my orangy-fingers and asked me if we need to get the doctor to check them out, but now he smiles each time he sees them and asks me if I’ve been chopping “tchumic” (his own cute way of pronouncing Turmeric!)
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter on medium heat until the butter melts. We combine the olive oil with the butter to prevent the butter from burning.
Fry the onions, stirring constantly, for about 4 – 5 minutes until they soften, then add the garlic and fry for a minute or 2.
Add the meat cubes, season with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of the Seven Spices mix. Sear the meat on all sides, while stirring regularly to prevent it from burning.
Add the lamb bones (if using) to the pan, along with the remaining tablespoon of seven spices and sear well and keep stirring to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
Add the sliced fresh carrots and mix to coat with the spices, then add water to the pan to cover the meat and bones, bring to a boil then gently simmer on medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the sauce thickens a bit and the meat is falling off the bones, add the green peas for 5 minutes on medium heat, then take off the heat.
NOTE: Using bones in the pan will yield a richer and more flavorful dish. You could discard these before serving or you could serve them if they contain meat or marrow, but if you prefer not to use them altogether then you can use beef or chicken stock instead of the water in the previous step.
