This lovely mountain resort town is perched above the eastern end of
the beautiful Kadisha Gorge and at the foothills of the Cedars of Lebanon.
It is the brith place of Lebanon's most famous author
Khalil Gibran. It has a small museum which pays tribute to him.
Beiteddine palace was built over a period of thirty years by Emir Bechir Chehab II.
It's architecture reflects the typical oriental architecture of the 19th century Ottoman Era.
It is remarkable for its glamorous
arcades, multicolored mosaic floors, reception rooms, harems, hammams
and even by its guest house "Diyafa" where passing guests were lodged
(French poet Lamartine stayed once there).
Detail of the Sarcophagus of Ahiram, king of Byblos, seated
on a cherub throne, before an offering table, 13th century B.C (National Museum of Beirut).
Around 1200 B.C. the scribes of Byblos developed an alphabetic phonetic script, the precursor of our modern
alphabet. By 800 B.C., it had traveled to Greece, changing forever the way man communicated.
Located in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, Baalbek is an ancient city
that has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally
Canaanite (3rd century BC), the Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines,
and Arabs successively occupied Ba'albek and left their imprints on the
place, often modifying what existed previously.
www.kaftoun.com
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Fasoulia Bzait - Fasoulia literally means beans in Arabic. Zait, means oil in Arabic. Fasoulia Bzait means Beans cooked with oil (instead of meat)
| 8-10 |
| 6 |
| 8 hours for soaking dry Pinto or Red (Kidney) beans |
| 1 1/2 to 2 hours until beans are fully cooked and tender |
Ingredients:
| 1/2 kg (~ 2 1/2 to 3 cups) |
| 2 medium |
| 1/4 to 1/3 cup |
| 135 gr (1/4 cup) |
| to taste |
| to taste |
Directions:
- Soak 3 cups of dry pinto beans overnight or for a period of 6 to 8 hours. Rinse several times until clean. Place in a cooking pot with a lid to cook. Add ample amount of water to cover the beans. Cook on high until boiling point, then cover and let it simmer for one hour on low heat checking and stirring occasionally.
- In the mean time finely chop two medium onions and place in a frying pan with 1/4 or 1/3 cup of olive oil to cook on low heat. Stir occasionally so the onions will not burn. Cook until the onions are light brown in color and have started to caramelize. On low heat this should take 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat when cooked and add to the beans cooking in the pot.
- Continue cooking the beans until tender. Adding water occasionally if necessary. Once the beans are tender, add the tomato paste, salt and black pepper to taste and continue to cook on low heat until the liquid is thickened from the tomato paste. This could take from 20 to 30 additional minutes. If there is too much water with the beans cook at this stage uncovered, otherwise cook covered. Stir occasionally so the beans will not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Variations:
- None.
Serving Suggestions:
- Serve in deep individual (pasta) serving plates or cereal bowls with table spoons and Arabic flat bread on the side. Refrigerate the rest of the beans and enjoy all week long.
- Also you could serve on top of fried eggs on toast for breakfast for a hearty meal.
Submitted by: Jay Fares - Jul 09 2009 12:28:14