Saffron in the Souks by John Gregory-Smith

Author:John Gregory-Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Octopus
Published: 2019-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

BEIRUTI MEATBALLS [DAOUT BASHA]

BEEF & BROAD BEANS IN YOGURT [FESTQIYEH]

JEW’S MALLOW CHICKEN SOUP

IRAQI LEMON KIBBEH [KIBBEH BAR MOUNT]

LEBANESE TORTELLINI [SHISH BARAK]

PALMYRA YOGURT SOUP

MUM’S OKRA YAKHNI

FISHERMAN’S SEAFOOD STEW

HEARTY MOUNTAIN EGGS [LABAN BIL BAYD]

SOUK EL TAYEB VEGETABLE STEW

GREEN BEANS IN TOMATO SAUCE

BEIRUTI MEATBALLS

[DAOUT BASHA]

My friend Rima Khodr is one of the coolest ladies I have come across, so full of life and energy – and boy, can she cook. We spent the day together and she taught me how to make her Beiruti meatballs. She explained to me that this recipe was named after an Ottoman man called Daout Basha. I have slightly adapted her recipe, adding tomatoes to the sauce to make it a little richer, but kept that classic Lebanese tartness running through it with pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.

SERVES 4

For the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ onions, finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato purée

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra to garnish

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

400ml chicken stock

1¼ teaspoons dried mint

½ teaspoon cornflour

10g butter

juice of ½ lemon

For the meatballs

500g beef mince with 15–20 per cent fat

½ onion, grated

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon Lebanese 7 spice or baharat

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

a handful of finely chopped parsley leaves

sea salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes until lovely and golden. Add the garlic and mix well. Tip the tomatoes into the pan and add the tomato purée and a good pinch of salt. Mix well and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes so that the tomatoes start to break down. Add the allspice, cinnamon, pomegranate molasses, chicken stock and 1 teaspoon of the dried mint. Mix everything together really well. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10–12 minutes or until everything comes together into a lovely sauce.

2. Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs in a mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt, saving some of the parsley for garnish. Roll into 16 walnut-sized meatballs.

3. Transfer the meatballs into the sauce and shake the pan so that they settle. They should be about half covered. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10–12 minutes or until just cooked through, turning the meatballs halfway. Take the meatballs out of the sauce and let them rest on a warm serving dish.

4. Bring the sauce to the boil over a high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes until lovely and thick.

5. Mash the cornflour into the butter and add it to the sauce with the lemon juice. Whisk for 1–2 minutes to further thicken the sauce. Check the seasoning and add salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and garnish with the remaining dried mint and a pinch of cinnamon. Scatter over the reserved parsley. Serve immediately.

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