Ras El Hanout

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I haven't heard of this spice before. I do love broad beans or fava beans so I wouldn't mind buying it from Herbies Spices just to try out the recipe for Byessar or Moroccan Broad Bean Dip.

Has anyone heard of this spice blend?

Here is the recipe. It is from Notebook Magazine September 2005.

Byessar

1kg broad beans (2 heaped cups shelled beans)
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon rind
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ras el hanout
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup coarsely chopped coriander or cilantro

Split broad bean pods along the seams. Remove beans and discard pods. Cook beans in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Refresh in iced water, then drain again.

Peel and discard skins from large beans (leave smaller ones unpeeled). Process broad beans, preserved lemon, garlic ras el hanout, oil and lemon juice in a food processor for 1 minute (add a little water if mixture is too thick). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to allow flacvours to combine. When ready to serve, stir in coriander.

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Serve byessar with flat bread or pita, pickled radishes, black olives, Lebanese cucumber lengths, and quail eggs rolled in dukkah, maybe that is slightly ambitious!

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Another mezze plate recipe:

Parsnip, yogurt and date salad


This Lebanese salad can be thought of as half salad, half relish. It is concentrated, rich and sweet. We eat it as part of a mezze plate, or with lamb.

Serves four.

600g parsnips
10 dates, stoned and roughly chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
150g Greek yogurt with a squeeze of lemon, or any slightly sour yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp runny honey
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper


Peel the parsnips, cut in quarters lengthways, and get rid of any woody centre. Grate coarsely and place in a bowl. Add the chopped dates and mint, followed by all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, toss well and taste. Serve immediately.

From: tinyurl.com/f9zg7

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www.zamourispices.com/

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www.mistressofspice.com.au