Welcome to Lebanon! So it turns out that when I did the research for this project a few years back, I didn't get this country quite right. First of all, I called it Libya Lebanon - not sure why. This meal is from Lebanon - Libya will come another time! Lebanon had the world's first law school, and is the only country in Asia without any desert land! It is actually a lush country! Fascinating. It is also believed that the Wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water to wine happened in Lebanon. According to Google, the population is 6.68 million people and the capital is Beirut. Their national dish is...
Fattoush! (Actually, it is Kibbeh...)
Like I said, somehow I got the dish very messed up for this country. Oh well...it was bound to happen eventually. That said, Fattoush is the most popular salad, and is a staple in Lebanon. So that's good! Kibbeh is actually the national dish of another country, so we will make it with that country. More to come! To go with Fattoush, we made pita bread and spiced chicken. Had to have some protein with the salad...It seemed like an excellent summer meal! Here's what we did:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 green onions, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
1/2 C Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 C mint, chopped
Pita chips, for garnish (I made my own - recipe below)
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a jar, and shake until incorporated.
- to make the salad, combine all of the ingredients, except for the pita chips, in a large bowl.
- To serve, allow everyone to put their own dressing and pita chips on the salad, and enjoy!
1/2 C lime juice
2 tbsp avocado oil
Zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
2 tsp crushed saffron
1 tsp coriander
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Ground sumac, to garnish
2 limes, halved
Pita, for serving
- In a large Ziplock bag, comine the sour cream, juice, oil, zest, cumin, salt, pepper, saffron, coriander, garlic, onions and chicken. Toss to coat.
- Chill for 4 hours.
- Heat your grill on high.
- Skewer chicken on 4 metal skewers.
- Grill chicken, turning often, until the chicken is cooked through and slightly charred, about 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle skewers with sumac.
- Serve with limes and pita.
2/3 cup tapioca flour
- Heat the water in a saucepan over medium heat for a few seconds until it's lukewarm (not hot!).
- Add yeast and sugar and stir with a spoon.
- Set aside for about 5 minutes to proof the yeast.
- Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, psyllium husk powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Add the yeast mixture and oil, then stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes, form a dough ball, and place it back into the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 45-60 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and shape them into balls.
- Cover them again and leave them to rest for about 10-15 minutes.
- Roll out one piece into a circle about 1/4 inch thick by using a floured rolling pin.
- Repeat this step with the other dough balls.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
- Very lightly oil your frying pan.
- Place a pita dough in the skillet and cook for about a minute. After a while, you will see that bubbles start to form on the surface.
- Flip the pita over and cook it for a few more minutes on the other side.
- Repeat this step with the other pitas and keep the cooked ones covered with a kitchen towel.
