Yup, it has been a good while since I’ve last posted. I have been and still am incredibly busy but I won’t bore you with the what/where/how. Things will soon unravel in their own time. Meanwhile, I’ve got a stellar recipe for you. It’s inspired by Lebanon, of course, and by my wonderful visits to Abu Kassem, but also from the Food Blogger Connect 2011 goodie bag. The lovely people over at Steenbergs were kind enough to provide us with some za’atar samples and I thought it would be undignified (and un-patriotic) of me, if I did not get more recipes out there, highlighting this wonderfully earthy blend of herbs and spices. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to more plate-lickin’ Middle Eastern grub.
It is incredibly difficult to resist generously smothering these lamb riblets with sweet and sour pomegranate molasses and a dusting of pungent za’atar, before slow cooking them on low heat until they are so tender and moist, they can’t help but slide off the bone. You could throw them on the barbie to sizzle (for the full cooking time) and, if my recollections of a past life in Texas serve me well, then the following equation of barbie + ribs + slow cooking over a smokey fire is bound to have each succulent bite followed by awkward but much welcomed salivating, gnawing and lip smacking. Have I failed to mention finger and plate lickin? You are at liberty, of course, to marinade the ribs for 2 hours and up to overnight or perhaps even a fortnight (Caution-that is just a joke). You may also substitute with pork baby-back ribs which are similar in shape and size.
- 125ml/ 4 fl oz/ ½ cup pomegranate molasses (found in any Middle Eastern specialty shop & Whole Foods)
- 45ml/ 1½ fl oz/ 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp za’atar (found in any Middle Eastern specialty shop & Whole Foods. Also try Steenbergs)
- 2 lamb riblets ( also called breast of lamb, Denver cut, Lamb spare ribs)- between 600g (1 lb 5 oz) to 900g (2 lb) each. 1 lamb riblet/breast contains about 7 ribs and ordered from your butcher. It will serve 1 to 2 people.
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Foil, for wrapping (about 50cm/ 20in in length)
- Heat the oven to 130C/250F/1G
- Mix together the pomegranate molasses, cider vinegar, allspice, cinnamon, garlic and za’atar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Take two sheets of foil, overlap them at their half point and place the ribs in the center, lenghtways, raising the edges of the foil to create an open parcel. Rub the lamb with a little salt and pepper and pour over about ⅓ of the pomegranate sauce, and coat all sides. Bring together the edges of the foil and seal into an airtight parcel. Repeat the same process for the other ribs. Place in a baking dish and cook in the center of the oven for 2 hours.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, open the parcels and allow the ribs to cool in the juice/marinade.
- Transfer the juice/marinade from each parcel to a saucepan on med/high heat, bring to a boil and reduce to a thick sauce. Stir often.
- Heat a barbecue/grill/ griddle pan until hot, brush the ribs with the reduced sauce and grill until slightly charred.
- Serve immediately with Greek-yoghurt, Arabic bread and tabouleh.
Oh boy, oh boy! Those look fantastically good. 🙂 My brother just got a new grill for his roof top terrace in Amsterdam. I’ll have to send him this recipe for a strong hint 🙂
Congratulations Beth this the best lamb ribs i had it ever!!!!!! good job…
And now I’m regretting not bringing back any pomegranate molasses, though I did come back with a whole new suitcase, a whopping 18 kilos of extra luggage from our outbound!!!
Let me know if you need me to send you some.
Aloha,
Great to see you back in the fold. Looking forward to some mighty fine meat this weekend!. As ever your pictures make me drool 🙂
O those look so good Bethany! I’ve just used most of the honey from my goodiebag and I’ve been thinking of making some lebanese flatbread and dip to use the za’atar but this looks pretty amazing to me to!
I hope you get to try it out Simone!
These look great Beth…..Where to get the Z’atar from??? ( Taj?)….. Welcome back! xxxxx
Taj or melly made 🙂
Always looking for an excuse to whip out the pomegranate molasses and this looks soooo good.
oh so good, pomegranate and meat. yum
Love lamb ribs and your spice/pomegranate mix offers a good balance.
It’s obvious the BBQ spirit of Texas is still with you, Bethany. Well done!
Thanks Gretchen. Hope you get around to making it 🙂 x
Lovely roast dear 🙂 Pity I can’t do barbie in my house or all the bums in the street will flood the house.
Need to try za’atar asap too!
Big hugs for your life plans sweetie 🙂 Miss ya!
Thank you Alessio! I think you’ll really appreciate za’atar once you give it a try. xx
oh yes ! those top 3 photos are beyond tempting – these ribs just look outrageous. i seriously want to grab a few from your screen for dinner tonight !
i am so missing having a bbq right now. must try this on our ridged griddle pan soon… thanks for another fab recipe, b !!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did Kerrin. x
Making these tonight. FYI, your ingredients list says “apple cider” but the instructions say cider vinegar. Going to assume you mean vinegar. Looks delish!
Thanks for stopping by and bringing to my attention. I’ve updated.
Wow, this is something that would provoke much finger linkin’ joy and what Mrs GW calls the “sex noises” I apparently make when eating something particularly toothsome and tasty. I love the idea of using lamb ribs on the barbie because lamb and charcoal are such a happy couple. It’s one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that recipes.
This looks so delicious, I don’t think I’ve ever had something like this.
I really want to try this sometime….
@OrangeThymeBlog this looks good and simple http://t.co/M0Kh9Geg and Beth’s of course http://t.co/Scqm6Tuj
I live in Saudi Arabia and have come to love all things to do with pomegranates. Pomegranate molasses is just amazing too and nowadays I can’t imagine not having it in my pantry, along
with za’tar! I’ve just bought some lamb ribs and can’t wait to try this – it has both my favourite ingredients. Yum.
http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2013/04/pomegranates-sharing-recipes-long.html
Hi Bethany. How are you? Do you think the lamb coulb be repleaced by beef? Have you tried the receipe with another kind of meat? Thanks. All the best
Hello Mimi, it would work with either type of meat, chicken too. I’d use it a bit more sparingly on fish though.
Hi
Tried this on Sunday and although I could not find any pomegranate molasses I used Grenadine instead !
It still turned out & tasted amazing
Thanks for the recipe I will definitely try this again x