Arabic

Sweet and spicy. Savory too. Exactly the right consistency. Soft in your mouth. Complex flavors without being distracting. It sounds like literature, but it is simply a hero of a soup. An every day soup. Stand up whoever doesn’t like this soup. I accept the challenge. That’s how confident I am.

Tahina has the ability to turn something that is a bit boring into something interesting. Or even better, something that instantly turns into comfort food. In other words, something you can never get enough of. It also has that effect in this dish. In the plant based yogurt it gives this dish a delicious foundation. And the crumb on top gives the dish something surprising, playful and a little spicyness.

This is a very Lebanese way of preparing rice. First you bake the vermicelli, you add the Lebanese seven spice powder. Then cook the rice, sweeten it with a little agave syrup and let it rest. Sprinkle some fried slivered almonds on top and you have a delicious side dish on the table. Rice like you’ve never eaten before, but which you will probably put on the table much more often after today.

A delicious velvety soup, fresh because of the lemon zest, even a bit spicy. Great for a summer day or any other day of the year.