Riz ibFool (Rice and broad beans) رز بفول

Riz ou Fool is a very healthy and quick dish to make for dinner, in no time you can whip this up and even have a side to go with it. Broad beans or fool are a good source of protein and fiber, in 1 cup of broad beans there are 10 grams of fiber!!! This dish is an excellent example of why i LOVE arabic food, because spices come secondary to the actual flavor of the food. Arabs tend to use very little spice and rather combine ingredients and bring out their flavor, which i love.

I start off by cooking my lamb cubes in about 2 tablespoons of oil (the amount of oil doesn't matter because when the meat boil and you remove the "scum" you remove all the oil as well). The reason i do this step is because i want my broth to have as much flavor as possible and in order to do that i either need bones OR to make brown spot on my meat and pan. So once the "brown" spot are achieved add water and let it boil, remove the "scum" and then add 4 cloves. 1 onion, salt, cinnamon stick and 1 bay leaf.

I used Montana brand green broad beans (this brand was good, I've had some bad beans in my days)

Saute the frozen beans until they are no longer frozen and then...

Add a cup of water and cover the pot and cook the beans until all the water is gone.

Once all the water is absorbed add 1 cup of rice with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of your meat broth. and let it come to a boil. Add (optional) 1/4 teaspoon of Arabic spice and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon)

Note: i decided to use basmati rice because it has less starch than jasmine rice (traditionally used) and the broad beans have starch as well.

When the level of water is level with the rice and beans then turn the heat down all the way and cover and continue to cook until the rice is done.

Now the dish is done just plate it up and put your lamb cubes on top and garnish with fried almonds and pine nuts

Serve with a yogurt salad (yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, salt and dried mint) or with a small salad

Written Recipe:

1 bag of frozen broad beans (you can use fresh too, about 1.5 cups)

1 cup of basmati rice

1 cup of lamb cubes (fried and cooked with 1 onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and 4 cloves)

1 - 2 tablespoons butter, oil or samneh

1/4 teaspoon Arabic spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pine nuts and almonds for garnish