October is one of these months when books (mostly cookbooks) keep landing in my mailbox and I am trying without much success to keep up.
2 big heavy tomes are part of this week's wave.
First of these books that make a thud when you drop tham is The Lebanese Kitchen (Phaidon Press, October 2012) by Salma Hage.
With 500 recipes showcasing cooking styles from the all regions of the country and not just cosmopolitan Beirut, The Lebanese Kitchen is natural follow up to 10 Do's and Dont's of Beirut we published recently.
Lamb Tongue and Tomato Stew
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 hours
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ¾ lb/800 g lamb tongue
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste (purée)
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon seven spices seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
Lebanese bread, to serve
Instructions:
Put the tongue, bay leaves, and salt into a large pan, pour in boiling water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 4 ½ hours or until the tongue is very tender. Remove the pan from the heat, then drain the tongue and let cool. Carefully peel off the skin from the tongue and discard. Cut the meat into chunks. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Add the meat, tomato paste (purée), basil, and all the spices and stir well. Pour in boiling water to cover and bring back a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes until the tomato sauce has reduced and thickened. Serve immediately with Lebanese bread.
(* Recipe from 'The Lebanese Kitchen' by Salma Hage- Phaidon Press, October 22, 2012- reproduced with permission of the publisher)