Peel and chop onions finely, spread in an oven pan and put in heated oven to become red.
Clean lentils well and rinse. Boil lentils in pot to become well cooked (it can be soaked in water for 3 hours before boiling).
Add cinnamon stick to give special flavor. Add prepared onions over it. Sift the flour and knead with water and a small. amount of salt.
Leave dough to rest for half an hour. Stretch the dough and cut it into 1 cm wide rectangles. Sprinkle flour between the pieces.
Add salt and cumin over the boiled lentils. Add dough one piece at a time with continuous stirring so that it will not become one mass. Leave to boil for almost half an hour with stirring from time to time. When well cooked, add olive oil and serve it hot.
Recipe Notes
Contributor: Terez Yammin Morqos, 72
Place: Zakreet, Lebanon
Background:
Personal Background:
Housewife, a mother and a grandmother. She was president of Marian sisterhood.
Activist in Tayeb market for healthy food.
Prepares marzipan for more than 50 years, and she is an artist in forming shapes of it.
She makes healthy sweets and hospitality food varieties for social events like weddings, births, baptizing, first holy communion, “hospital healthy” when visiting a patient. Also, lady Terese makes a special symbol for every event.
At the beginning she used to prepare for relatives and friends only within her village. Now, she is famous and prepares orders for Beirut and outside Lebanon.
Her hobby is art, especially painting and needlework.
She has received many awards and certificates of appreciation from several referents. She got a certificate for the most delicious Rashta which is our recipe.
Recipe’s Personal Background
How did you learn this recipe?
I’ve learnt with the time and from the experience, from the family and context all above. Watch people cooking is the secret. For example, I learned to prepare marzipan when I was in the interior nun’s school. I used to watch them secretly.
Is there some memory/historical event connected to this recipe?
Terez declared that she had learned how to cook after marriage and she said: I did not know how to cook an egg, but now I became a professional and a cooking teacher.
Personal reference to tradition transmitted by relatives (preparing together, sharing, eating together etc.)?
This recipe has been learnt during the years, through sharing moments with friends and relatives
Mediterranean Background
Any tradition this receipe is connected to? If yes, which one? Can you describe it?
Eaten all year round.
In the Christian Lebanese community, this recipe is eaten in the Time of Lent preceding Easter because it is a vegetarian meal
Any Festivity this recipe is connected to? If yes, which one? Can you describe it?
No
Is your recipe connected to the territory you live in? Is it strictly linked to the specificity of the agricultural environment?
Yes, its ingredients are planted in the local nature.
Season (season this food is linked to)
In all seasons, because its ingredients exist in every Lebanese house all year round.
Ingredient
Nutritional Importance
Health Benefits
Lentils
Good source of protein, fibers, Vitamins and minerals
Lowers Cholesterol, Good for digestion. Provides energy.
Onion
Good source of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and manganese.
It shows anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. The combination of these properties can prevent some cardiovascular diseases and cancers.
Wheat flour
Source of carbohydrates. High glycaemic index. The plain/white wheat flour has a low content in fibre and micronutrients when compared with whole wheat flour
Significant health benefits are only found in the whole wheat flour which, compared to normal/white wheat flour, has higher contents of fibre, minerals and anti-oxidant. There are wheat flours enriched with specific vitamins or minerals which, in some cases, can fulfil nutritional deficiencies.
Olive oil
Source of mono-unsaturated fat. It contains vitamins E and K.
The main fatty acid of olive oil, oleic acid, is more resistant to oxidation than polyunsaturated oils, reducing total and LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol), while increasing the HDL fraction (“good” cholesterol). The phenolic compound of olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties which softens cell membranes while turning them more resistant to the action of free radicals. This protective effect of olive oil also extends to the decrease of arterial blood pressure, to the strengthening of the immune system and to the prevention of certain types of cancers.
Additional information
Is it suggested to eat this meal if you suffer from some disease? If yes, for which one?
Yes, patients who suffer from constipation or who are vegetarian.
What is the primary base with which your food is prepared? Is this a derivative of oil or another base?
Lentils (from plant origin), rich in proteins.
Olive oil (from olives tree)
This recipe is a healthy complete dish rich in all nutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water).
What nutrition related illnesses or deficiencies are common in your area? Are there holistic or nutrition based remedies connected to these aliments?
No, there are no holistic or nutrition based remedies connected to these aliments.
