HARRAK ESBAO

Recipe from Keely & Omar

Ingredients

• 300 grams pasta – rigatoni or penne
• 300 grams black lentils
• 150 ml olive oil
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 large white onion sliced into thin slices
• 1 TBSP tamarind paste
• 3 TBSP pomegranate molasses
• pita bread
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Wash the lentils thoroughly and put them into a pot.
2. Add three times the amount of water, and simmer for 20 minutes until tender
3. If you have a tamarind block, you will want to soak it in hot water now.
4. Cut or tear the pita into bite-sized chunks and set aside.
5. Heat a pan and add half of the olive oil to the pan, and fry the onion slices gently. Be patient but careful to achieve nicely fried onions without any burning. Again, salt them and allow them to rest on a paper towel.
6. When your lentils are approximately 10 minutes out from being tender, add your choice of past to boiling water, and cook to almost al dente.
7. While the pasta is cooking saute the parsley and garlic with a bit of the infused olive oil.
8. Now drain the lentils and the pasta, and reserve a cup of the pasta water.
9. Add the pasta to the lentils with the pomegranate molasses, tamarind puree, some pomegranate pieces, and parsley- garlic mixture.
10. Next, add a bit of pasta water, mix well, and allow simmering gently for a few more minutes until it comes together nicely as a stew.
11. Add a generous bit of the onion-infused olive oil, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
12. Transfer the hot stew to a baking dish and allow the dish to cool.
13. By now the harak osbao should have firmed up nicely. Dress it in patterns of your choice with the toppings.