Dallas, TX (PRWEB) September 14, 2011

With shorter days approaching, hours spent by the barbecue are coming to a close. Summer vacation may be over, but the comfort food of fall is just around the corner. Beat the end-of-summer blues with the warmth of simmering spices and comforting flavors from Chef Joumana Accad and TasteofBeirut.com.

The best comfort food tastes like home. Here to inspire you with hers is Chef Joumana Accad, sharing both classic and innovative Middle Eastern fall recipes. Chef Joumana serves up a traditional comfort dish from her native Lebanon: Lamb shanks and rice (roz-be-dfeen). Her addition of dried berries and nuts creates a hearty, festive feel often associated with fall and great for a holiday meal. This one-pot meal can be prepared ahead of time and with many variations from meat type to rice substitutions, making it a party-friendly dish for everyone.

As a side dish, Joumana includes a dandelion greens salad. Popular in the Levant, this healthy, easy dish is served at room temperature and requires few ingredients. Joumana notes that people in rural areas of the Levant still forage for dandelions; time-honored tradition is the invisible tasty ingredient.

Top your meal off with a a classic southern dessert made with a Lebanese twist to create an intriguing blend of culinary traditions.

Celebrate fall with Chef Joumana Accads inviting family-friendly recipes.

Lamb Shanks and Rice (Roz be-dfeen)

8 servings

This is the quintessential comfort dish in the Middle East. Its preparation varies by region, but it always elicits delight when presented on the dinner table. It consists of lamb shanks, cooked until they fall off the bone, in a broth flavored with cumin, allspice, and cinnamon. The shanks are served with rice, chickpeas, and pearl onions.. It is a one-pot meal.

Rice is often substituted with bulgur (the coarse type) or roasted green wheat (freekeh). Craisins and nuts can be added to make it more festive, however this step is not traditional and can be omitted.

This dish is served with a bowl of yogurt on the side. A dollop of yogurt helps balance the warm richness of the rice and lamb.

It can be prepared ahead, which makes it ideal for a party. It can also be made simply with lamb pieces, minus the bones; bones, however, add flavor to the broth and, by extension, to the rice. If lamb shanks are not available, substitute stewing beef and some beef bones and brown the bones to add flavor to the resulting broth. This dish can be also made with chicken. A vegan version could be made as well by simply omitting the meat and switching to a vegetable broth.

1 1/2 pound of lamb shanks, either with the bone or boneless (adding bones to the dish gives more flavor to the broth)

1 pound of pearl or cipollini onions

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups of basmati or long-grain rice, soaked in warm water with a dash of salt until the shanks cook

Spices:

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of white or black pepper (can substitute 1 1/2 teaspoon of seven-spice, 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon)

    1 can of chickpeas (or 1/2 cup of dry chickpeas, soaked in water overnight with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda)

    1/2 cup of Craisins (optional)

    1/4 cup of pine nuts (optional)

    1/4 cup of slivered almonds (optional)

    Clarified butter or olive oil, as needed

    6 cups of water

Equipment needed: 1 large pot to cook shanks and rice. 1 skillet to brown the pearl onions and nuts. 1 bowl to soak the chickpeas in overnight. 1 bowl to soak the rice. 1 serving platter. 1 bowl to serve the yogurt in.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil (or clarified butter) and brown the shanks from all sides. Remove the shanks to a plate. Fry the chopped onions until golden in the same pot. Place the shanks back in the pot; sprinkle with all the spices.

Add to the pot 6 cups of boiling water and simmer the shanks gently until tender, about one hour. If you are using dry chickpeas that have soaked overnight, rinse them and drain them and add them to the shanks now. The chickpeas will cook with the meat.

In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil (or clarified butter) and brown the pearl or cipollini onions. Remove the onions and set aside. Add the almonds and pine nuts and toast them in the same skillet. Set aside.

To cook the rice:

Measure the broth. If you have too much, let it boil down, if too little, add some water. (Just empty the broth into a measuring cup). You need no more than 3 cups of broth for rice or bulgur (or roasted green wheat if using).

Drain the rice and add to the lamb shanks in the pot and simmer for another 30 minutes until the rice has absorbed the broth and the lamb shanks are falling off the bone. If using canned chickpeas, add them along with the rice. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, add the Craisins (if using) and the pearl onions to the pot. Serve the dish with a garnish of toasted nuts and a bowl of yogurt.

Dandelion salad with Halloumi Croutons

4 servings

1 bunch of dandelions

2 onions

1/4 cup of pine nuts

3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil to fry the onions and dandelions

Butter to fry the halloumi

1 Halloumi cheese, cut in cubes (can be replaced with mozzarella-bocconcini)

Salt, pepper

1 Lemon

1.    Wash the dandelions well and cut off the tough ends. Boil a few cups of salted water and drop the dandelions in the boiling water for a few seconds until they turn limp (but not too long to preserve their vibrant color).

2.    Drain the dandelions and set aside. Slice the onions into rings and fry over gentle heat in several tablespoons of oil until golden brown, stirring every couple of minutes and watching them to prevent burning. Mash the garlic with salt in a mortar and set aside. In a smaller skillet, drop three tablespoons of butter and let the butter melt and froth; at this point, fry the halloumi (or bocconcini) cubes on all sides till golden; drain on paper towels. In the same skillet, fry the pine nuts until caramel-colored, drain them on paper towels and set aside.

3.     Squeeze the dandelions of any extra water and drop them in the pan with the onions and pine nuts. Add the garlic paste and stir to combine evenly into the greens. Remove from the skillet onto a platter, serve with the cheese croutons and some quartered lemons on the side.

NOTE: After slicing the onions, you can sprinkle them with salt to make them purge their water and fry to a crispier state. Some people prefer to cut the dandelions in one or two-inch pieces, which makes chewing them easier.

Halloumi is a sheep cheese imported from Cyprus that is very popular in the Levant; it is sold in major supermarkets in the imported cheese aisle; it can be substituted with bocconcini (small mozzarella balls).

Apple Dumplings with Fig Jam

8 servings

An apple covered in pie dough is not a Middle Eastern tradition; it is something I discovered in the South. I stuffed the apple with a Lebanese/Levantine fig jam [made from dried figs, anise, sesame seeds, and walnuts], which can be bought at stores specializing in Middle-Eastern or ethnic foods, or made at home quite easily (see following recipe).

The apple peels can be recycled into apple-flavored syrup which can be used over several days and stored in the refrigerator.

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 cup of softened butter

1 egg yolk (from a large egg)

1 or 2 Tablespoons of cream

3/4 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla or rose water or orange blossom wa

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