Eating The BEST FOOD in Lebanon - Massive Family Lunch!

hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day it's mark Wiens i'm in the sleepy beautiful town of Adele tune in the mountains of Lebanon it is Sunday today sunday is the best day to be in Lebanon because it's a day when family gather people still take the time to hang out with family to hang out with friends and to have a huge Sunday lunch feast and so today I am very privileged to be hanging out with my friend camel and his parents and his mom Fifi is gonna cook for us everything from scratch home-cooked Lebanese family meal for Sunday lunch [Music] we're in agile agile tune and we just arrived this is the day before this is Saturday the big meal is on Sunday but the story begins that day before because it's such a big meal in Lebanese culture like you and the family gathers it's a huge feast requested stuffed cabbages for yet and oh man it already smells good in the kitchen the day before thank you washing the floor we just arrived like a minute ago fefe dish to me a bowl of the rice pudding to sample coming out on the veranda to try it and Micah is already splashing in the pool yes he couldn't wait fefe prepared for Micah a little a little pool in the Sun but this is a beautiful property we have a view they have a garden below mmm still really hot really taste of fresh milk the rice almost kind of like melts into it and then it is pudding not too sweet - it's really good mmm it is still the day before it's Saturday but we are going to a dinner at a is it like a farm farm house run by a nice family and the place is named as Jana farmhouse Jenna farm house okay we're just pulling up to Jannah biopharm he plants all his own vegetables as camel said it's like a little oasis oh yeah Michael look at the chickens and ducks it's family-run it's almost like a little zoo that they have animals there's guinea fowl there's these amazing hairy chickens even their feet are hairy that's incredible it almost looks like a they're like woolly unique what is that oh it's a peacock I was just reading up about the hairy chickens and they're actually called silkie chickens originally from China or just walking through the garden section now the different fresh vegetables there's cabbage there's lettuce these are all these are string beans and then they're still planting this Michelle said that it's good to plant right now this is the best time in the evening yeah their vegetables just looks so healthy so green so vibrant I bet they taste that way too this is the ultimate garden to table right where we can see this is why you want to come to the farm to eat this fresh plate of vegetables is everything fresh everything from the farm it's so good how about a little radish mmm I love it mm-hmm I haven't had a radish in years actually a little bit spicy hmm yeah here we had the radish like horseradish oh yeah Bon Appetit Bon Appetit presentation than the local ingredients the fresh ingredients chef O'Mara's it's very cool as well that fattoush looks amazing and you eat it with some of the cheese it's just perfect with all the vegetables from the garden the pomegranate molasses in there comes in nicely yeah but we've got a plate of the kofta rock ophtho you can see that parsley so for cocktail you have to have parsley in there there's other spices there's onions I'm sure and this one is all made by hand oh ho ho yeah well the spices in there the mint and the parsley and what is that I'm undressing the its spinal cords and it's my favorite I love it lemon juice and garlic fresh garlic fresh mint it looks like pasta almost [Music] well they're just like butter for some reason if you think about tomorrow or do you think it's gonna be like bony and much like the inside of the spinal cord really right these beautiful tomatoes that have been sitting on the table since the beginning of the meal and just a simple preparation there might be I don't even know if there's olive oil but a lot of sumac and then the garlic lebanese garlic sauce [Music] that's one of those things that's just so simple and so delicious because it relies on the natural tomatoes the garlic that acidity sourness from the sumac this one is a mixture of organs the sauce it's amazing they can definitely spleen in there there's heart in there and not just a whole mix of organs it's like a sour chili tomato a delicious sauce and then the different textures of the organs the chewy the the gummy this is really like all the best things in one meal suja which is just an amazing spiced sausage in tomato sauce oh yes and repeat mmm I'm in love with Sue joke all that suit is amazing that was really good no actually that one looks another dish we have is the grilled halloumi cheese sprinkled doused in honey oh I don't think I've ever had a balloon me and honey hole it's so it's so right because it salty cheese the sweetness of the honey but not overly sweet mmm that is delicious yeah everything is amazing such good food and I thought it was for her but then she said it's for me I think she for the digestion for all the food we've been eating [Music] [Applause] the lemons in Lebanon are just the best [Music] must wake up to coffee and cardamom so among many things that fifi is making for lunch today many of the things are gonna be stuffed stuffed with rice stuffed with meat she's getting prepared on some of the little zucchinis and eggplants which she's gonna hollow out stuff with meat I believe and then she said she's gonna put them into a yogurt sauce like what it's with meat so we do not take too much okay yeah just like that perfectly hollowed out little zucchinis perfect for stuffing them with with meat and pine nuts one of the main dishes that she's making is the stuffed intestines lamb intestines but Fifi got started on that yesterday because it's such a long process she had to really clean them out clean them mill them all multiple multiple times then they are stuffed with a combination of rice and minced meat and onions I think and some other spices does the intestines are the base of the pan at the bottom of the pan kind of wrinkly and curly curled at the bottom of the pan and now she's adding in the stuffed grape leaves which she also stuffed yesterday with a combination of rice and minced meat now I put some salt okay I used the sea salt and I put lemon juice Nalla voice I used the olive oil always we need to cover and about one centimeter higher okay food well because the rice has to cook awesome exactly okay just want to keep the plate down okay three hours yeah okay because we'll put it now on a one-eighth will boil we'll put it on slow fire okay and leave it I will boil it but first hour alright just a little to keep the spices or not leave sewed it up she wrapped it up she's still wrapping it up then she's gonna pan-fry it boil it and then bake it can't fly away then she puts it in a pot with water a few spices some bay leaves some cardamom some cloves that's gonna boil and then cook it melting the rice on the inside and then it's gonna go in the oven after that Fifi's getting ready to make one more dish well there's there's even dishes I don't even know about even though I'm in the kitchen there's so many things going on it's like probably about an hour and a half before lunch he is gonna make cabbage rolls and this is something I requested because cabbage rolls there it's something that's known in Lebanese food but it's so hard to find in restaurants and so I I I gave the request to Fifi salt and of course the meat with their eyes and cumin yeah yeah [Music] the filling is a mixture of minced beef rice cumin olive oil and then she rolls them up in the the leaves of cabbage which have been pre blanched and then sets them neatly into the pot with the lamb cutlets the lamb chops and then it's all going to be cooked together boiled together a little garlic probably a whole head of garlic and then a sprinkle of pomegranate molasses and a sprinkle of dried mint and then filled the pot with water until it which is the the top and that's going directly onto the stove right now and again that has to cook for a while because it's raw uncooked rice within those cabbage rolls so the rice has to cook to expand and you want to push it down to be warm squish them down so that when the rice expands they don't unravel this is why you need six burners in Lebanon all six of them fully in use bubbling away because a lot of dishes home cook dishes are really slow cooked really take a long time to you got to boil them for hours and my speciality cameras next ultron's the community this one this one the cat muna was burped all the lamp which is really soft and this is the Wow [Music] that smells so good it's so juicy it's so good I can't wait to try both things but especially the stuffed intestines [Music] I can't you eat like this every Sunday I want to say yes but almost almost like normally you might have one or two main dishes like kings of the dishes center plates and a lot of sides but we are having like five main centerpiece dishes and still all the sides oh I can't wait this is an amazing that's a lot of the most beautiful meals I've ever seen in my life yeah I know okay first bite we're beginning with the the lentil soup they're Swiss chard in here there's onions there's lentils and windle's yeah and garlic it's so like refreshing so good as that less sour lemon juice taste to have that Swiss chard just melts you grab one they're made to be held with your fingers keep it from the southern region southern central region of southern central region region of Lebanon it's like meat brassknuckles from the shop that's the olive oil that we love the technical name is frocky whenever it goes south south of Lebanon that's rocky with the special spices spices origin and that kind of high ratio of the bulgur which really gives the exactly the crunch of the wheel is a nice collection that's the classic eBay and then we add some of this on the side and then the filet I'm gonna just take my first bite of the fillet dip it into a little bit of that spice mixture yeah it's tender that's like zero fat that's just pure pyramid pure freshness the fresh liver so we're all it has this crunch to it all of those rub meats all different textures all different flavors you almost don't even realize that it's raw because it's so fresh it's opere we've tried a few of the cold appetizer dishes side dishes but we cannot resist it's like it's hot it's fresh it's Wiggly and tangly and curly right in front of us we have to begin almost calling my name yes I can hear it it's time it's time to try those intestine stuffed in Dustin's this is the camel was telling me when his brothers come back home or when he's abroad and then comes back home this is one of the main dishes that you request me to make oh yes we're going for the same one oh yeah tear off a piece while oh they're so good there's a lamb intestines right and they're just so soft like they're not they're not chewy at all they're cooked for so long they became one the rice right there one bite kind of caramelized intestines with rice dip it in the juice oh and that's just like liquid meat down there you can see it it's like it looks like melted butter all rehydrate it is so good I'm done for that one in the juice exactly mmm it just melts like the rice has turned to pudding within that leaf I'm gonna add a little chili to my next bite of intestines and rather than cut it I'm just gonna eat the whole the whole snake [Music] don't add a little soy sauce to it - or incredible wood that chili sauce with that like crunchy melted rice another combination is the stuffed vine leaves or intestines with yogurt the stuff like vine leaves are just too good I mean you could eat them with anything and they'd be good this is the dish that I saw Fifi making with though the mini or the baby chick peas with onions oh yeah we sweated down the onions tomatoes and eggplant in there a lot of olive oil and a lot of the mint right cover one bite oh so much good olive oil [Music] so soft like a just disintegrates in your mouth so much garlic and the mint in there too oh it's so good well I love it so then before we actually actually try the zucchinis that are stuffed with minced meat in the yogurt sauce we're gonna try the insides the hollowed out insides of them which then pipi kind of like sauteed down I see I'm definitely sure there's a lot of garlic in there mint as well and olive oil for sure Wow mmm you won't expect so many burst of flavors so much garlic in there and lemon juice to dragn it I think is what also makes a huge difference stuffed zucchini is cooked in a yogurts too minced if you finished those I knew you would refill and then cook them in a gravy sauce made from yogurt and then one of my favorite moves is when she at the end she'd fried up some coriander and some garlic in some butter and then poured that on top mixed it in so you can it's so aromatic it smells so good they've been cooking for so long it's so delicate I'm sure those zucchinis are just gonna fall apart like dissolve in our malthus's comfort you don't even need to chew that's who can you literally just like dissolved in your mouth with the minced meat look at like light fragrant yogurt sauce you can dish the coriander and the garlic in there too that's juicy like watermelon it's so juicy oh that's okay we're moving on to the stuffed chicken now stuffed with rice and the spices then fifi she pan-fried at first to sear those spices on the chicken then then boiled it in some herbs and spices and then baked it to get that finishing caramelized skin roasted touch hmm well yeah you taste cinnamon the Nutmeg for me the Nutmeg is like the most pronounced spice in there it's so gooey and you taste that like broth a chicken broth fat slow to cook this is a chicken rice combo with yogurt no chicken camel's father made from the juice of the chicken that chicken brought he makes this sauce kind of like a liquidy sauce with lemon with some other spices in there garlic yeah I like that version better than yogurt yeah the lemon juice freshness the garlic in essence amusing we typically often eat the fattoush kind of at the beginning of the meal right but it doesn't really matter you and that the intestines just called our names too too quickly we didn't make it to the petrusha at first so now we're coming back for the fuchsia and this is special tip of fattoush because kammo added some of the mcdu stew it exactly which people love Madhu's new it's like it's a nice tangy acidic flavor I would I would call it the king of preserved it's one of the kings of preserved foods because it's stuffed with peppers walnuts and garlic and garlic and rich olive oil I'm a douche to dinner so there might be some splatters on the floor forgive us okay Oh nicely done straight down oh okay oh yeah wasn't expected then we wait a little bit for everything to drop and then slowly Oh Oh smells so good those those lamb chops on top they're just caramelized on the bottom you smell that mint you smell the oils that just looks so juicy so down below we have made it to the end this is the final dish of the Lebanese ultimate Lebanese Sunday Sunday family meal fifi feast this is the final dish the cabbage rolls that we rolled together you can smell the lamb you can smell the mint you can smell the garlic and there's also some other pomegranate molasses that you drizzled in there I didn't want to disrespect the cabbage roll so I I'm gonna leave it whole and you take it as a one byte or Cheers [Music] you can't feel the tightness lifting up the cabbage drag me it's a total different texture and feel than the grape leaves fifi does it again fifty strikes back pv strikes again Hamels other secret dipping it into a thick like a thick pomegranate molasses give it another edge of flavor [Music] Wallen that's more like a burst of sourness like a hint of sweetness but it's mostly sour although the boom this is the stage when you just your breathing gets a little heavier and you start teaching oh my god mr. Taha he's making his specialty dessert which is popular in his home region his home town which is side'a what is it called wow I can hardly even move but mr. Taha'a specialty dessert and I had no clue there was cheese in the middle until he sliced it open he pulled it up and like cheese just just oozed from it but this is a special dessert and it's called a pea pea some syrup and some serve with some orange blossom Jam we got a bunch in it oh that's really crunchy - you can't actually even put your fork through it you need a knife you know I think it's not even tweet apart from that syrup is poured on topper okay actual Barrow mound of melted cheese in the center oh so so the bread the bread on itself is not sweet it's not sweet and that was a great dessert but it has almost put me to my head all I can have is to you right now and this is wonderful tea with lemon grass this is all I want right now the weather is still cool except I'm I'm probably perspiring from the digestive sweats right now oh thank you - Fifi for her amazing cooking Campbell the entire caja family thank you amazing thank you we have come to the end of this video and I cannot even express how unbelievable that Lebanese family meal Fifi taha camel entire taha family meal on Sunday was that was a spectacular meal taha family they've started this amazing project where they go around to villages around Lebanon and collect and it's more they curate some of the best ingredients from Kish to olive oil to sumac to spices to different delicacies of the best products from around Lebanon from small producers and they have a shop a boutique that they have in Beirut they're doing an amazing job of curating the best ingredients at Lebanon so check them out especially if you're in Beirut if you visit baby I want to say a big thank you to US aid for funding my trip to Lebanon for getting us here so big thank you finally if you haven't seen all the videos in this entire trip to Lebanon we've traveled around Lebanon it's been an amazing trip so much food so much incredible food and incredible people I'll have all the videos in a playlist with a link in the description box that you can click on and watch the entire playlist all the videos big thank you for watching this video I want to say a huge thank you please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed click subscribe and you can also click the little bell icon so that you'll get notified immediately as I publish another video the next video that you don't want to miss thanks again for watching goodbye from Lebanon in the mountains of Lebanon see you on the next video

Channel: Mark Wiens

Views: 2,645,018

Keywords: Lebanese food, Lebanon, Lebanese culture, Middle Eastern Food, Middle Eastern culture, food, food vlog, food videos, Sunday lunch Lebanon, stuffed intestines, stuffed cabbage, stuffed vine leaves, feryal boutique, warak enab, best food, best Lebanese food, Levantine food, Arabian food, Arabic food, mediterranean, mediterranean food

Id: BJIzcUf8pz0

Length: 28min 35sec (1715 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 11 2019