So how does one alter the idea of what moghrabieh can do as an ingredient? One must seek inspiration from his stomach, of course. A few blog posts ago I said my gluttony was firmly skewed towards the savoury polar extreme and I'm here outing myself as a liar. I'm a glutton, nothing else. Sweet, savoury, bitter, sour...Absolutely anything. I'll try the vast majority of things for that new kick (balut excluded). I subscribe to Anthony Bourdain's philosophy - being a picky-eater is such a first-world luxury. But I guess you can argue that so is haute cuisine. Moderation is the key and we all know it. It's just hard to admit it.

















In search of a sweet kick I went to the dark side. I used moghrabieh to make a dessert. I know, it doesn't sound right. But what's right, right? Anyway, the cherries were infused with Orange Blossom and the moghrabieh flavoured with vanilla and oranges. This was much more delicious than I'd anticipated but it possibly needs some tweaking. Any ideas? Maybe chocolate pieces?

Ingredients
handful of cherries
glug of orange blossom water
vanilla pod
one medium orange zested
two handfuls of moghrabieh
milk
water
cream if you're feeling indulgent
sugar
sprig of mint to garnish

















Method
Remove the stones from the cherries and sprinkle with sugar and pour on the orange blossom water. Leave in the fridge for an hour before making the dessert. Initially place the moghrabieh and a glass or so of milk and the opened and scraped vanilla pod in a pan. Gently heat until the moghrabieh is nearly fully cooked and then add the cherries. You may need to add water to thin it out if it's getting too thick. Cook until the moghrabieh is tender. You might want to stir every two or three minutes. Turn off the heat when cooked and add the cream and orange zest. Serve in a bowl with the mint and voila!

Next up on this blog: something for the carnivores.

Moghrabieh is a much underused Lebanese pantry ingredient that is similar to what is known as pearl couscous. Pearl couscous, or what is marketed under the name of Israeli couscous in the UK/US, has its roots in the Lebanese variety. But the Lebanese variety also has its roots in the original North African couscous hence the name moghrabieh or 'from the Maghreb' (Morrocco, Tunisia, Algeria). Unlike the North African ingredient, moghrabieh pearls are much more substantial which yields a different mouthfeel and texture that is more associated with pasta. In this two-part post I'll show you two recipes (relatively) exciting with moghrabieh. First up is the eponymous Lebanese classic.


















Ingredients
stock
roast chicken carcass
one medium onion
one large carrot
celery stick
a sprig of fresh thyme
enough water to cover the carcass
salt and pepper

















moghrabieh element
two handfuls of moghrabieh
stock (variable - enough to cook the moghrabieh)
chicken (optional - if you have some left from the night before)
four or five shallots peeled
a can of chickpeas
1 teaspoon crushed caraway seeds
1/4-1/3 teaspoon baharat
additional salt and pepper if needed
grape molasses
butter (optional)

















Method
Stock
Place all the stock ingredients in a pan. Bring to a boil and let similar on a very low heat for an hour. Take off the heat and strain leaving just the liquid behind.

Moghrabieh element
Fry the whole shallots for 30 seconds in rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan. Take out and keep on the side. Fry the chickpeas in the same pan and then add the baharat and caraway seeds. Cook for 20 seconds and then add the moghrabieh. Add the stock and cook the moghrabieh until there is no resistance in the pearls when you bite into them (this could take quite a while, maybe up to 30mins). Add the shallots back in for the last five minutes to cook them through. You can add butter at the end if you want to further improve your consistency. Drizzle grape molasses on the side for effect and a sharp tang to counter the creamy, spiced moghrabieh. Voila!