Stew | Food Heritage Foundation

Loubyeh w rez

Green beans or “loubyeh” are highly consumed in Lebanon and cooked in different recipes either with meat or vegetarian. Spring season announces pulses harvest such as green beans, broad beans, chickpeas and others, which may be consumed raw but also cooked.

Green bean stew can be prepared with or without meat, usually chopped in cubes. We bring you here the vegetarian version of it, served with rice on the side.

Number of servings: 4

Green beans chopped, washed and drained

Ingredients:

1 Kg of fresh green beans, washed and chopped (frozen beans can also be used)

1 onions, diced

4 garlic gloves, diced

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

½ Tsp. all spices

½ Tsp. salt

½ cinnamon stick

Juice of a lemon

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Liter of water

Preparation steps:

In a cooking pot, stir-fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until wilted
Add the green beans and water
Season with salt and spices including cinnamon and add the tomato paste
Bring to a boil
Add the lemon juice
Simmer for an hour on low fire until the beans are well cooked
Serve hot with rice on the side

Akkoub stew with meat

Akkoub stew cooked on the stove

Akkoub (Akub) or Gundelia is a wild plant that belongs to the sunflower genus and found in the plain and mountainous of semi-arid regions for only few weeks every year. Akkoub is collected in the wild in early spring (February and March) when snow has metled. The thorny leaves are removed manually with a knife to uncover the stem and roots which are used for cooking. Akkoub is found in parts of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine. In Lebanon, it is commonly collected in the southern part of Mount Lebanon: the mountains of Shouf and Dahr el-Baydar where is it used to prepare stews, omelets, salads, kebbeh and even pickles.

Akkoub is reported to have several health benefits such as anti-inflammatory and laxative properties.

Total servings: 5

Ingredients:

1 kg of akkoub steams, washed, rinsed and finely chopped

500 g of lamb meat

1 cup of vegetable oil

The juice of 1 lemon

3 medium onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp. of salt

Black pepper and cinnamon according to taste

Preparation Steps:

In a large pan, stir-fry the onions and meat with 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil for about 5 min.
Add 3 cups of water to the meat and cover them until they start boiling
Once they start boiling, cook on a medium fire for 30 min.
In another pan, stir-fry the akkoub until they wilt and become transparent
Add the lemon juice, spices and salt to the akkoub and cook for 15 min; leave them covered on a medium heat and do not stir
After 15 mns., add the meat and onions to the akkoub
Serve hot with cooked rice on the side