I don't know if you remember the final scene from the movie Ratatouille. Alfredo Linguini, helped by the little rat Rémy, serves a ratatouille to the culinary critic Anton Ego, an austere character and of the kind difficult to satisfy.
The chosen dish, unexpected to say the least, amazes the critic who unexpectedly drops his fork, and awards 5 stars to the restaurant.
Indeed, this “family” dish awakened in him his child's soul, in a Proust madeleine plunging him back into his distant memories, when his mother served him ratatouille.
Fassolia is a bit of all that in the Mediterranean that lies dormant in us. Indeed, it is a dish that exists in several variations depending on the regions of the Mediterranean, and which was generally cooked by grandmothers in various countries from the Balkans to the Maghreb via the Middle East.
If it is cult, it is as much for the memories it conveys – a dish imposed by our mothers who forced us to finish it, while we dreamed of fries and nuggets – as for its food composition, namely a peasant stew with a thousand and one nutritional virtues.
White beans simmered in a tasty tomato sauce with spices, garlic, basmati rice, and a portion of noble meat, here lamb. This is a comforting dish and typical of the "Blue Zones", these areas where life expectancy in good health is breaking records, particularly around the Mediterranean. There are also a multitude of versions depending on the country.
You should know that this naturally high-calorie dish is the antithesis artificially high-calorie processed foods (also called “empty calories” in nutrition circles).
At that time, energy expenditure was much higher than today. Our elders worked in more difficult conditions, there were fewer comforts and their hobbies were much less sedentary compared to today.
It is therefore understandable why some were in relatively good health – provided they had access to care comparable to that of today – compared to the baby boomer generation up until the current generations, who have known processed food and pleasures that are a little more, let's say... disruptive for the body.
If at the time, children dreamed more of fast food than country dishes, this kind of family and hyper-nutritious recipes are increasingly coming back to the forefront. For their comforting taste first of all, thanks to the spices they contain, and whose recipe is the fruit of several hundred years of adjustments. And for their nutritional virtues, there too tested and validated by generations of women and men who often lived in much more uncomfortable conditions than today.
Indeed, this dish is a synthesis in terms of nutrition: saturated fats which have caused a lot of ink to flow but which, provided in reasonable quantities, are necessary for the proper functioning of the body (especially at the beginning or middle of day), vegetable protein and fiber from white beans, then “good quality” carbohydrates with a moderate glycemic index from basmati rice.
It's not for nothing that I placed it in 4th position in my top 20 of the best traditional Lebanese dishes. It is a great dish for fall and winter, or just to comfort yourself in the summer. Although it may seem counterintuitive, it is still a good idea to eat soups, stews or casseroles in the summer, as they provide the minerals that can be lacking in hot weather.
All this to say that when I asked my father for an idea for a comforting Lebanese dish typical of the country of the Cedars, it was quite natural that he cooked me a Fassolia like his mother used to make, and once my fork was on the ground, I immediately wanted to offer it in a limited edition on the Libshop menu.
Since then, this dish has been kept on the menu and will remain so as long as some aficionados continue to ask us for it 🙂
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