Kamal Mouzawak was describing a dessert his grandmother used to make, a sort of pudding made of rice and covered with walnuts and syrup. He was getting so lyrical about it, I was fascinated. I was picturing a grandma, wearing a  bun and an apron, stirring and stirring rice in a big pot until it was thick;  letting it cool outside in the terrace, ladling it out to her grandchildren, with the walnuts and syrup on top for a special treat.

I wanted to find that recipe.

In our world, where every food item under the sun is available at our neighborhood supermarket, from Italian cold cuts to Hungarian spices to Thai curries, I can’t help but be drawn to those recipes devised by people who had little at their disposal. A little rice, some nuts from the trees nearby, a bit of sugar.

I found a recipe in Nada Saleh New Flavours of the Lebanese Table, in which she describes an old-time dessert, made with rice mashed into a cream and a top layer of nuts and rose water jelly;  probably not Kamal’s grandmother’s, but it will do. I have adapted the recipe to simplify its execution.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of short-grain rice, such as sushi rice or risotto rice
• 2 1/2  cups of water (to cook the rice in)
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/4 cup (or so) of cream (can use a can of ashta, reduce the amount of milk accordingly)
• a few pebbles of mastic ( freeze the mastic for one hour, then  place in a plastic bag and grind up with a rolling pin till powdery)
• 1 (or more) tablespoon of rose water
• a handful of nuts, soaked in water (I also used some candied walnuts)
• 2   tablespoons of cornstarch (can use wheat starch instead)
• 1/2 cup (or more, to taste) of sugar

METHOD:

1. Soak the nuts in water.
2. Cook the rice in about 2 1/2  cups of boiling water until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes, and has absorbed most of the water; if there is still a lot of water left in the pot, drain most of it and replace it with milk and cream. Add a few tablespoons of sugar (to taste) and cook the rice some more, until the mixture is a moist and gooey mass. Add the mastic and stir to distribute the flavor evenly.
3. Cool the rice mixture a bit and pour into the food processor in batches. Puree until the mixture is smooth and velvety, adding more milk if needed. Cool in a serving platter or ramequins.

1. Sprinkle the nuts over the rice cream.
2. Make the rose water jelly; dilute 2  tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water. Heat 1 3/4 cups of water in a saucepan; add about 3 (or more, to taste) tablespoons of sugar, stir to dissolve; when the water starts to steam, add the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until it bubbles and thickens; add the rose water and stir.
3. Pour onto the rice cream through a strainer. Cool and serve. (If the mixture does not thicken, it is fine to repeat the operation adding a bit more cornstarch and diluting it in water, then mixing it in)

NOTE: Mastic is imported from Greece and is used extensively in Lebanese sweets and even savory dishes; it is available online or at Greek or Middle-Eastern grocers; it comes in very small jars or pouches and consists of clear pebbles that come from the resin of a specific bush. Freeze the pebbles and grind them (they will not dissolve easily otherwise) or mash them with a bit of sugar in a mortar.

This afternoon was earmarked for some shopping in Beirut‘s new and glistening souks, a mall reminiscent of the most upscale ones  in the US. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the garage, a  surprise was in store for us: a vehicle was parked in front of the  garage door, blocking our car. A derelict-looking thing too, not one of those resplendent BMWs, the #1 preferred car here, the car that says “ I am the King of the Road“.

No, this was a car that could have used a few months of tender loving care  at a body shop and upholsterer.

We looked around, hoping to spot the impudent driver. No one in sight, not even on a balcony. What to do? Go home and hope that in a few hours it will be gone? Alice (daugther) suggested getting in our car and honking nonstop to alert the neighborhood. I said:” Try it if you want, but  we are in Beirut here, nobody pays any attention to honking!

Fifty  feet away, I saw a man loitering about; I called him ” are you the driver of this car?”;  ”no, lady” he yelled back; he moved closer and leaned over the windshield, scrutinizing it ” Look, a phone number!”.

Sure enough, on the driver’s side of the dashboard, I saw a phone  number scribbled on a wrinkled tiny piece of paper in pencil. The man said to me ” See, all you have to do is call that  number  on your cell phone”.

He read the numbers out loud to me with  an Egyptian accent. ” Pfft! “, I thought, ” this guy seems to think it is that easy!”

A minute later, I heard a voice on the other end,  apologizing : ” I will be there in a jiffy, lady, I am in the Sabbagh  building across the street, just give me a minute!”.

Living in Beirut can be maddening, charming, exciting, dangerous, fun and  all of these combined.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of risotto rice
• 1 small onion
• olive oil, as needed
• 1 large heirloom tomato
• a cup of porcini mushrooms, either fresh or dried (if dried, soak in hot water for 30 minutes)
• a few shakes of pink peppercorns and salt to taste
• one jiggle of white wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional)
• a handful of pine nuts, sauteed in butter till brown or toasted

METHOD:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot; add the chopped onion. Stir until the onion is translucent (cover the pot to speed up the process).
2. Add the rice and stir for 3 minutes till the rice takes on the color of mother-of-pearl.
3. Add the white wine and let it simmer till it almost evaporates.
4. Add the tomato and the mushrooms and stir. At this point, add a couple  ladles  of water  (about 2 cups) and let it simmer, stirring from time to time.
5. Add some salt, pepper and some cream, let it simmer and meld into the rice.
6. Add the parmesan cheese last, stir and serve the risotto when it is cooked but still firm to the bite and all the rice, when stirred, moves in the same direction. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Daily routine when I want to get the car and go out in Beirut. First, if my daughter is with me, I ask her to kindly swivel the outside  mirrors inwards in order to give me one and a half inch extra space on each side of the car. Then I pull the car out of the garage very slowly  (an inch at a time) and make sure Ali, the valet parking attendant (there is a clothing  store in the building)  knows I am pulling out; he then stops incoming traffic (except scooters, who go anywhere in any direction they please); using his right hand fingers that he swats continuously, he makes sure I can actually get the car out without hitting the vehicles  parked on both sides of the street, the concrete walls, any drivers that ignored his signals or any pedestrians… (the width of  the street is barely enough for my Honda and a spare  inch).

After about ten intense minutes of wheel turning, to the left, right and backwards, my neck veins about to erupt and  my heart beating at 160  beats a minute,  Ali nods calmly (while  the six to eight cars that he stopped  honk in tow), and tells me ” You are done, lady, now go, and Allah be with you (allah ma’ek)”.

Dates are a much beloved fruit in the middle-east, especially during Ramadan; an old friend of my dad’s is visiting from Baghdad and brought a box of these, as sweet as can be, with a flesh so soft it melts in your mouth. This couscous salad is composed of these dates, some orange segments, chick peas and for a little kick some fresh zaatar, yet another variety of oregano grown in Lebanon and called zaatar akhdar or green zaatar.

This zaatar is pungent and is used in salads usually (although I tried it in a pesto); it can be substituted for any green with a peppery taste, such as dandelion or radish greens or baby arugula.

The dressing for this salad is simply fresh orange juice, olive oil and a dash of curry powder.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 package of couscous or 250 g
• a cube of vegetable bouillon (optional, or water)
• a cup of chopped green onions
• a cup of fresh zaatar or a handful of radish greens or dandelion or baby arugula
• 4 large oranges
• olive oil, as needed
• 1 can of chick peas (garbanzo), rinsed, drained and boil simmer a bit in fresh water, then peeled if possible
• 1 cup (or more) of dates, pitted and chopped coarsely
• salt, pepper, to taste, and a dash of curry powder

METHOD:

1. Cook the couscous according to the directions on the package, using the vegetable bouillon instead of water if desired.
2. Make the dressing: juice the oranges, leaving two for segments; add double the volume of olive oil and some salt, pepper and curry to taste.
3. When the couscous is ready, add the peeled chick peas, the dates, green onions, orange segments cut in half  and zaatar. Mix and add the dressing, mixing it beforehand to make sure it is well emulsified. Serve.

NOTE: This salad is also delicious with the addition of grated carrots and raisins.