Mid-week feast at home!

Last night’s dinner was Middle Eastern. The combination of vibrant colors and flavors always brings life to the table. We cooked Mujadara, a Lebanese dish with rice, lentils and caramelized onions. Then we cooked lamb chops marinated in a very special sauce – a recipe my sister taught me a few years back and that has been passed around from one continent to another. Enjoy!

Mujadara (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1 cup of basmati rice
1 cup of green lentils
4 x large onions
2 x teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
4 x tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation :
1) Cook the lentils in water for 20 mins and set aside.
2) Peel the onions and chop finely lengthwise. Add the olive oil in a pan on high heat and toss in your onions, stirring occasionally to brown evenly. (This is where my version of Muajadara differs from the traditional one: usually the onions are cooked until crispy but I prefer them caramelized). Once the onions become translucent, lower your heat and cook very slowly for a further 20 mins or until dark brown and set aside.
3) Cook the rice in the same pan used for the onions. Add the cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper, then add the lentils and stir gently for a couple of minutes. Fill the pan with water (usually about 1cm above rice level) and cook on low heat for approximately 20 mins.
4) To serve, put the rice and lentils on a plate then sprinkle the onions all around.

Tip: you can serve this dish with natural yogurt on the side 


Alia's Lamb Chops
Ingredients (serves 5-6 people)
12-14 lamb chops
1 x large bunch of fresh coriander 
6 x garlic cloves
5 x tablespoons olive oil
4 x chillies (seeded)
the juice of x 2 limes
2 x teaspoons of ground cumin
1 x teaspoon paprika.

Preparation:
1) Mix all the ingredients in a blender - this makes the marinade. Pour over the lamb chops and marinate for a couple of hours.
2) In a hot pan, gently sear the lamb chops on the fat side to get a brown color. Once this is done, place all your chops in a tray and cook at 200C for 15-20 minutes depending how you like your meat cooked.

Thank you Alia, you made many happy taste buds over the years!!