I first came across maqluba, or makloubeh, while watching a cooking demo by Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and was instantly hooked. As Kattan explains: “Maqluba is a one-pot meal that has a fantastic balance between protein, grains and vegetables.” It can also help you save waste, because you can upcycle leftover roast lamb (plus any bones) and vegetables from your Sunday roast into this lovely dish.
Maqluba
For the best results, make your own stock from a lamb bone, either left over from a roast dinner or raw from the butchers. Pick off and save any meat before making the stock, then repeat after the stock is made, because more meat will reveal itself in the nooks and crannies after simmering for a couple of hours. Reserve all of these tasty morsels for the maqluba.
If you don’t have much leftover lamb – you’ll need up to 250g for the recipe – the dish will still work well with as little as 150g: just replace the weight of any meat shortfall with more vegetables (leftover roast potatoes and carrots, say, both work well in the mix). Katten uses tomatoes in his maqluba, but they’re not currently in season in the UK, so I’m using tomato puree in the stock and piquillo peppers (or preserved peppers) in the base, to give the dish some colour, sweetness and acidity.
Serve with yoghurt and flatbreads on the side. If you have any maqluba left over, Fadi says to reheat them in a saucepan with a little water until piping hot.
For the stock
1 leftover roast leg (or shoulder) lamb bone
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
30g tomato puree
5g parsley stalks
For the dish
Up to 250g leftover roast lamb
300g basmati rice
1 aubergine
3 tbsp olive oil
2 leftover roast or boiled potatoes
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
1 large piquillo pepper, or roasted red pepper (about 100g)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp allspice
Sea salt and black pepper400ml lamb stock (see above and method), or water
1 small bunch parsley, to serve
1 small handful almonds or toasted pine nuts, to serve
4 tbsp yoghurt, to serve
Put the leftover roast lamb bone in a large pot with a litre of water, the onion, bay leaves, tomato puree and chopped parsley stalks, bring to a boil, then simmer for two hours. Remove the bone and pick off any remaining meat and set aside for for later, then remove and discard the bay leaves.
Now prep all the other individual elements of the maqluba. Soak the rice in water. Cut the aubergine into thick slices and fry in a tablespoon of oil until golden. Cut the leftover potatoes into thick slices. Cut the pepper, if using, into slices.
Now to build the maqluba. In a medium saucepan with a lid, cover the base with a mosaic of the sliced pepper, then top with, in turn, the potatoes, leftover roast lamb, chickpeas and fried aubergine.
Drain the rice, then mix it with the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, the spices and salt and pepper to taste. Tip into the pot and spread gently into an even layer, without pressing it down. Cover with the stock top up with cold water, if necessary), the pop on the lid and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until all the luqiud has been absorbed.
Take off the heat and leave to rest for three minutes. Take off the lid, replace it with a large platter the flip over so the pot is now on top. Tap the base to release its contents, then and carefully lift the pot off the plate. Finish with chopped parsley and a handful of almond slivers or pine nuts, and serve with a big dollop of yoghurt.
