GORDON RAMSAY RECIPES

Mansaf is the national dish of Palestine, the one that never fails on all special occasions. Try to prepare it yourself following our recipe

There are some dishes that are found in both Palestine and Israel, since for two years these two cultures have actually found themselves "coexisting" in the same state. In fact, Falafel and hummus are present everywhere, as well as shakshuka (eggs and tomatoes) or fatayers, the classic street food bundles stuffed with meat or spinach.
But the mansaf is not. Because mansaf is the only, if not one of the very few dishes, which does not respect the dictates of kosher nutrition, that is, that followed by observant Jews. This is why it has become the Palestinian national dish, which never fails on all special occasions. "In Palestine there is no marriage without this dish, but also in Jordan and Syria!".

Because mansaf is not kosher

The kosker (or kosher) precepts, meaning "suitable", are based on the Torah, the highest reference of the Jewish religion. Among these the best known is perhaps what prohibits the consumption of meat and dairy products in the same meal; before moving from one to the other, in fact, you have to wait at least for the time of digestion. But meat and dairy products don't even have to be cooked or processed together; for this reason it is necessary to have different pots and plates for the two foods, also because utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food cannot be used. Other rules concern the absolute ban on eating birds of prey, rabbits, pigs, horses, camels, as well as reptiles and insects, while chicken, turkey and duck are allowed. Meat and fish, on the other hand, can be eaten together, but only by rinsing your mouth between them; in addition, only fish that have both fins and scales are allowed, so seafood, caviar, monkfish, crabs, cuttlefish, eels, lobsters are prohibited. And then the moment of the is fundamental slaughter, which must be done by an expert and qualified rabbi who checks the general health and makes the blood drain well, absolutely prohibited. For all these reasons, kosher labeling is given only after various checks and must then be clearly visible on the products, which, moreover, are also purchased and consumed by non-observant Jews, as they are considered safer. So, in the case of mansaf, this prohibition is even more evident, as it involves the use of two ingredients such as lamb, or kid's meat, and sheep's or goat's cheese, kashk, and therefore of two animals who are also related. "In kosher culture it is even more serious to wet the son's meat with the milk of his mother," explains Ibrahim Nimerawi.

When eating mansaf

The mansaf is the national dish of important occasions, such as weddings and Eid, which is celebrated twice. There is Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan and then, two months and ten days later, Eid al-Adha, the feast of the Sacrifice, which this year will be from 30 July to 3 August. The latter is celebrated to remember a passage present both in the Koran and in the Bible, in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as a test of faith towards him. But Abraham is blocked by the angel and accepts only that of a ram as a sacrifice. Thus, during this festival, an animal is sacrificed, usually just a ram, to remember the substitute sacrifice that Abraham made as a sign of obedience. In fact, Eid al-Adha is the feast of faith and submission to God par excellence, but also and above all of renunciation, so much so that much of the meat is then given to the most needy of the community. For all these reasons, Palestinians are more related to mansaf than any other dish.

The original recipe of the mansaf

This mansaf recipe has been adapted on the basis of two sources: the first is the book Zaitoun (which in Arabic means olive) of Yasmine Khan; the second is the phone call with Ibrahim Nimerawi, born in Hebron, Palestine, who now lives in Australia, but remains very attached to his original culture. Given the lockdown due to Covid-19, we have not been able to meet in person in Italy, where he often visits his daughter Armani. So, he explained all the steps of this dish on the phone and a few days later I tried to make it at home: it turned out to be very simple, but above all delicious! According to him, the version with meat is better kid and goat cheese, while in the book we find the one with lamb and sheep, so feel free to choose according to your tastes. Either way, Ibrahim continues, it is very important that there are bones: «The more bones there are the better. The ingredients are all fairly easy to find, except one: the kashk, a cheese with sheep's milk (or goat's) which is obtained by processing butter or yogurt. Kashk can appear as a thick, whitish liquid with a consistency similar to whey, or as a dried product that must be softened before being used with a flavor similar to sour cream. We have used a semi-seasoned Apulian goat cheese that we have recommended in our trusted dairy, but alternatively you can proceed with the use of sour cream. Finally, to be sure that the mansaf is doing well, it is recommended to taste this dish with each step.

The mansaf recipe

Ingredients for 4 people

1 lamb shoulder with bone cut into 8 pieces and without fat
300 g white basmati rice
200 g kashk
200 g Greek yogurt
40 g pine nuts
30 g salted butter
1 beaten egg (only the yolk)
4 crushed cloves of garlic
4 teaspoons of cumin
4 teaspoons of coriander seeds
2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
2 teaspoons of ground allspice
4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
cardamom to taste
salt to taste
to taste ground black pepper
saffron to taste
to taste sugar
extra virgin olive oil to taste
parsley to taste
qb then
star anise to taste
1 Arabic taboon bread or 2 pitta bread in 2 cm pieces
400 g chickpeas (as desired)

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the meat well washed because it is essential that it is well cleaned, then seal the pot until it is dark on all sides (do not overcrowd the pot, you may have to do it several times). Add garlic, spices, salt, pepper and fry slowly for a few minutes before pouring enough hot water to cover the meat. Continue to cook without a lid for 5 minutes, removing the foam from the surface with a spoon. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about an hour and a quarter, until the meat is tender. After 1 hour, rinse the rice in cold water until it is transparent, then soak it in a large bowl for 15 minutes.
When the lamb is cooked, mix the kashk, yogurt and egg with a whisk with half a cup of hot cooking liquid. Slowly add the lamb mix, stirring while pouring. It is important to add the mixture several times, so it will not separate. (At will you can add chickpeas at this time, even if they are not present in the original recipe). Cook for about 10 minutes, keeping a slight boil, then remove the lid and continue cooking for 10 minutes, so the sauce will thicken around the meat. Taste and season with salt if needed. Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Crush the saffron with the sugar in a mortar, then add 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Drain the rice. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the rice with 600 ml of boiling water, the saffron liquid, cardamom and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover with a little absorbent paper and with a lid cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Heat the bread in the oven at 200 ° / 180 ° in a ventilated mode with olive oil for 7-10 minutes, otherwise you can also do it in a wok-type pan; this bread will be the bed, that is, the plate on which to place rice and lamb. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for about a minute, until they are golden brown. To serve, transfer the rice to the bread in a large serving dish and put the lamb on top. Finish with a sprinkling of pine nuts, parsley and a couple of teaspoons of sumac and eat the mansaf together taking With the hands a piece of bread and collecting rice and lamb.

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