All right, food lovers, here’s my first Lebanese recipe. Sorry it’s been so long in coming, but Craig has been distracting me with barbeque for so long that I’ve had trouble focusing on cooking anything. I’m afraid I’ve become quite the brisket buff.
This recipe is a traditional lamb and string bean stew, called Loob-Yee Ib Lahm. I know, I know, Mary had a little lamb, and most Americans don’t have the constitution to eat a cute little lamb. But this recipe works fine with beef, so never fear.
First, we’re going to peel and halve three large onions. Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. Just light a candle nearby, or, for Pete’s Sake, use Vidalia onions. Just get over it, will you? Slice them along the grain into slivers about a half inch thick. Set those aside, and we’ll come back to them later.
Cut about a pound to a pound and a half of beef into cubes, and brown it in a saucepan. When you’ve done that, don’t skimp on the browning now; do it right—add enough butter to the pan to saute’ the onions, and add them to the mix. Add enough water to cover the meat, and we’ll simmer it for awhile until the meat is almost done.
Now it’s time to add a can of tomato paste and another can of tomato juice. I like to add a clove of garlic at this point, and I’ll throw in about a half teaspoon of pepper and a teaspoon of salt. Simmer all this for awhile longer until the meat is done, then add two cans of green beans and cook another fifteen or twenty minutes. Have you figured out by this time that your pan wasn’t big enough?
Of course, you could serve this over just any kind of rice, but don’t. I’m particularly fond of basmati rice, but any aromatic, long-grain rice will do nicely. Don’t let me hear that you’ve used instant or minute rice, or so help me, I’ll find you and make you do this recipe all over again.
Hope you like it!
