In the Kitchen: Hearty Yet Healthy

• Soak fava beans in water overnight.
• The next day, warm water in a large pot adding half a lemon and a bay leaf.
• Drain fava beans and when pot of water is almost boiling add beans to the water.
• Boil for about five minutes.
• Lower the heat and continue cooking for 45-60 minutes keeping a constant simmer.
• Keep the beans in the water until you are ready to serve them.
• Serve beans warm with some fresh lemon juice on top. Top them with cumin, sumac, coarse salt, lemon zest and drizzle of olive oil.

• Rinse and dry the quinoa.
• In a pot over medium-high heat, toast the quinoa with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add all spice, white pepper, black pepper and mix. Add boiling water and salt, cover and cook for 20 minutes on low heat.
• Fluff the quinoa with a fork and set aside.
• Roughly chop the purple onion and sauté in olive oil over high heat until it becomes a little bit caramelized. Add cooked quinoa and mix for another minute.
• Turn off heat and add chopped fresh cilantro, pomegranate seeds and toasted slivered almonds. Toss together gently.
• Move to a serving dish and drizzle with a little honey.

For Filling:

• Cook lentils for 20-25 minutes until soft. Drain and place in a bowl.
• Sauté chopped onion and minced garlic in olive oil and add to the lentils.
• Toast walnuts and pine nuts. Ground well and add to the mixture.
• Add chopped parsley and spices — cumin, black pepper, all spice, clove, nutmeg and salt. Blend mixture lightly using a hand blender. Add lemon zest and one egg and mix together.
• Form small balls of filling (quarter sized) and place on parchment paper.
• Freeze for at least three hours.

For Dough:

• Combine semolina, salt and avocado (or canola) oil in a mixing bowl. Add water and knead for at least five minutes. Form dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap. Set aside to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Form the kubbeh by placing the frozen filling ball in the center of a small piece of dough (quarter sized) that is flattened into a circle. Close all sides of dough and form a unified ball. (For easy Kubbeh forming, make sure your hands are lightly oiled). Place onto parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least two hours.

For Soup:

• Chop onion and sauté in olive oil. Add chopped celery, cubes of beets and minced garlic and sauté for another minute. Add tomato paste and harissa and mix together.
• Add sugar, soup mix, spices and black pepper, white pepper and salt and mix well. Add cold water, cover the pot and bring to a boil.
• Cook on medium heat, covered, for about 20 minutes.
• Add freshly squeezed lemon juice of half a lemon. Then, add frozen kubbeh carefully, one at a time. Cook for about 20-25 additional minutes.
• Allow soup to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.