Hamud Recipes

HAMUD

Steps:

• Collect a chicken carcass, giblets, and bones to make a rich stock. The giblets must be very fresh, and the bones and carcass those of a chicken prepared the same day, otherwise any meat on them will be hard and dry, and the marrow in the bones very stale. Crack the bones slightly to release more flavor.
• Put the carcass, bones, and giblets in a large pan. Add the celery and, if you like, sliced leeks. (The basic recipe is made with celery only.) Add the slivered garlic and cover with about 9 cups water. Bring to the boil and skim the scum off the surface.
• Season with salt and pepper, and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the pan. Simmer gently for about 1 hour.
• Remove the pan from the heat and discard all the bones, leaving only pieces of chicken in the broth. Add the zucchini, if using them, and cook for 15 minutes longer.
• Adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice if necessary. The soup should have a distinctly lemony tang.
• Add cooked rice just before serving so as not to give it time to become sodden and mushy.

SHORBET ADDS BIL HAMUD

Steps:

• In a large pan, fry the onion in the oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic and stir until it begins to color. Add the lentils and potatoes, and the water or stock, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
• If using fresh spinach, wash the leaves and put them in a pan with the lid on-and only the water that clings to them-over low heat, until the leaves collapse into a soft mass. Cut the cooked fresh or defrosted frozen spinach into thin ribbons with a knife.
• Add the spinach and cilantro to the soup and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and add water, if necessary, to have a lighter consistency.
• Cook a few minutes more and add lemon to taste (it should be tangy) before serving.
• For adds bel shaghria, add a handful of vermicelli, broken into small pieces in your hand, a few minutes before the end.
• For an alternative flavoring, fry 4 or 5 crushed garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil with 2 teaspoons ground coriander until the aroma rises. Stir this sauce, called takleya, into the soup just before serving.

LENTIL SOUP WITH SPINACH AND LEMON (ADS BI HAMUD)

Steps:

• Wash and drain the lentils, place them in a pan with water to cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until they are very tender, adding salt and pepper, to taste, towards the end of the cooking time.
• Wash the spinach thoroughly, remove the stems, chop the leaves coarsely, and add them to the lentils.
• Sauté the onions and garlic in oil until soft, add the flour and stir well.
• Add a cup of water and stir until this sauce thickens; then pour the sauce into the soup.
• Add the lemon juice and more water, if necessary, and simmer until the soup is thick.
• Serve very hot.

ADAS BIL HAMOD (LEBANESE LENTIL LEMON SOUP)

Steps:

• Heat oil in large pot over high heat. When oil is very hot, add onions and stir until onions begin to turn dark brown and caramelize, about 10 minutes. Put the lentils, garlic, frozen spinach, and mint into the pot. Pour in enough water so that it is about 2 inches deeper than the lentil mixture. Stir well to loosen browned bits of onion on the bottom of the pot.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. If soup gets too thick, add a little more water. Salt to taste. Lower heat and stir in lemon juice.