Traditions...Nothing Better.

Today, I had the pleasure of receiving cooking lessons from none other than Tete…Phil’s grandmother. She is Syrian and her traditional Arabic cuisine is something that our whole family cherishes. When she invites us to dinner or stops by with a pot of love, we are always so excited and eager to taste her creations.

Over the years I have been picking up tips and ideas for recipes from her but never anything written down. She, like me, doesn’t follow recipes. She adds ingredients that look good or uses “the way it feels” method.

I have been saying for a long while that I wanted to cook with her. She decided that we would start with “Rolled Cabbage” and “Mujadara”. The cabbage is stuffed with ground lamb, rice, and spices. It is then boiled in a garlic-y, lemon-y and mint-y broth and served with Syrian bread. Mujadara (MY FAV) is a simple dish of rice, lentils and caramelized onions.

In the next few months we will be setting up more sessions to learn more traditional cooking methods, theres so much to learn!

Mujadara

2 cups green lentils

1 cup rice, parboiled

3 onions, diced

8 cups water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

In a large pot add oil and onions, sauté over medium heat until onions are brown and caramelized. Add lentils, salt, pepper and water and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add rice and cook for another 15 minutes or until rice and lentils are very tender (all water should be absorbed).  *Garnish with caramelized onions, optional.

Mujadara (Rice, Lentils and Caramelized onions)

Rolled Cabbage

"We're Helping!" 

So tired from cooking all day...