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Lebanese Spinach Stew (Sabanekh wu riz) served with pine nuts and lemon slices
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5 from 280 votes

Lebanese Spinach Stew

Try this authentic Lebanese style Spinach stew made with simple ingredients; it's wholesome, well-balanced and perfect to feed a large family
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 157kcal
Author Yumna Jawad

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a heavy bottomed saute pan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and toast the pine nuts until golden, remove and set aside.
  • In the same pan over medium high heat, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and add the ground beef, season with 7 Spice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until the meat is browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside, keep any oil and juices in the pan.
  • In the same pan, add the cilantro, garlic and crushed red pepper, cook for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the frozen spinach, remaining salt and cook with the cilantro mixture until softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth or water and bring mixture to a boil. Return the cooked ground beef and pine nuts to the pan. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes until stew thickens.
  • Stir in the lemon juice and serve over traditional Arabic rice pilaf.

Notes

Storage: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and they will keep for around 4 days. You can also freeze the stew and it will keep for up to 3 months.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.
  • Instead of frozen spinach, you can use fresh spinach, but you will need 2 pounds to be the equivalent of 20 ounces frozen spinach.
  • Instead of 7 Spice, you can substitute any mix of paprika, cumin, coriander, ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon
  • To make it vegan, just leave the beef out or substitute it for chickpeas.
* Please note the nutrition label does not include the rice served with the stew.

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 765mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 2mg