Lubyee Bil Lahmi with Moghrabieh

In other words, green bean stew with meat and Lebanese cous cous.

I thought I would start off my Lebanese theme with a hearty stew of meat and green beans. I haven't had this dish in quite a while, and it is my first time making it. I browsed the web and only found a few recipes that I liked. So I decided to go on a limb and make my own. This stew is usually prepared with lamb, but we didn't have any of that here at home so I used stew beef instead. The long cooking time ensures that the meat will be nice and tender, falling apart and mixing with the sauce and beans. I decided to serve the stew over the moghrabieh instead of the usual rice. I love the big size of this cous cous, it really went well with the stew. I also served this with the pita bread I made below.

Now if only my Jiddy (grandfather) was here to share it with us, I think I'd make him proud!

Lubyee Bil Lahme

1 1/2 lbs. stew meat

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. coriander

salt and pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

1 lb green beans cut in half

1 1/2 cups diced onions

3 cloves garlic minced

1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbs. allspice

2 Tsp. ground coriander

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups mograhbieh

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. allspice

preheat oven to 350

Mix the flour with the tsp. of coriander and salt and pepper. Toss the stew meat around in the flour and shake off the excess.

Heat a large cast iron skillet, or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil and melt butter. Add the stew meat and brown all over, remove with a slotted spoon and put aside. Add the onions and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for a fw more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the stock and add tomatoes and spices. Put the meat back in pot, cover and put in oven for one hour. At the one hour mark add the green beans and cook for about another hour or until meat is very tender.

When you put the green beans in pot start the mograhbieh. Add the mograhbieh to a pot and add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and allspice, mix together. Add 2 cups boiling water, cover and let sit for about 30-45 minutes.

Serve the stew over the cous cous.