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Festive Levantine Ouzi (Fragrant Spiced Rice with Slow-Cooked Lamb, Peas, and Nuts)

Name: Festive Levantine Ouzi (Fragrant Spiced Rice with Slow-Cooked Lamb, Peas, and Nuts)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: middle_eastern
Ingredients: 1000 g Bone-in lamb shanks or shoulder; 400 g Long-grain basmati rice, soaked 20 mins and drained; 150 g Sweet green peas; 50 g Blanched slivered almonds, fried golden; 40 g Toasted pine nuts; 6 pc Green cardamom pods, crushed; 1 pc Cinnamon stick; 1 tsp Ground allspice; 40 g Ghee or butter; 1.5 tsp Sea salt

The celebration centerpiece of Levantine banquets: fragrant basmati rice simmered in rich spiced lamb broth with cardamom and cloves, tossed with sweet green peas, tender braised lamb, and toasted golden nuts.

Prep

25 min

Cook

80 min

Total

105 min

Ingredients

servings

Bone-in lamb shanks or shoulder
1000 g
Long-grain basmati rice, soaked 20 mins and drained
400 g
Sweet green peas
150 g
Blanched slivered almonds, fried golden
50 g
Toasted pine nuts
40 g
Green cardamom pods, crushed
6 pc
Cinnamon stick
1 pc
Ground allspice
1 tsp
Ghee or butter
40 g
Sea salt
1 ½ tsp

Preparation Steps

Simmer lamb in 2L water with salt, skimming foam. Add cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice; cook 60 mins until fork-tender. Shred meat into chunks and strain the fragrant broth.

60 min timer

Heat ghee, sauté drained rice for 2 mins. Add green peas and 700ml hot lamb broth. Bring to boil, cover tightly, simmer on lowest heat 15 mins, and rest off heat 10 mins.

25 min timer

Fluff rice gently with a fork and pile onto a grand serving platter. Crown with shredded lamb chunks and scatter generously with toasted almonds and pine nuts. Serve with cucumber yogurt.

5 min timer

Cooking Journal

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Nutrition Facts

per serving

Calories

580

Protein

38g

Carbohydrates

56g

Fat

24g

Allergens

MilkNuts

*estimated values per serving

Provenance & Public Domain Audit

Source: Middle Eastern & North African Culinary Heritage / USDA Public Domain Collection (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) & Levantine Gastronomic Archive)

Legal status: Public Domain (17 U.S.C. § 105) • 17 U.S.C. § 105

License: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal

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Festive Levantine Ouzi (Fragrant Spiced Rice with Slow-Cooked Lamb, Peas, and Nuts)

Ingredients

Preparation Steps

Cooking Journal

Your next move? A game of backgammon.