My friend Reham is an excellent cook. Above and beyond being a talented painter and an excellent mother, she can cook up fantasy dishes of fatta, experimental pumpkin pies and most recently, orange teriyaki steaks with apricot prune vermicelli.
While I have yet to try making the steaks, tonight marked the third in a series of vermicelli-filled nights of vigorous vermicelli stirring, scrumptious aromas and me with a cooking pot and a fork in my lap, scraping the last of the little vermicellis from the sides of the pot.
The mix of tastes — sweet and salty — makes for a comforting and delicious treat.
Ingredients
1/2 bag of Regina vermicelli
4 dried apricots, chopped
4 prunes, chopped
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 cube of low salt, low fat chicken bullion
About 1/2 to 1 cup of water
Preparation
1. Put vermicelli, apricots, prunes and bullion cube (crushed) into a pot.
2. Add oil and light the flame.
3. Stir vermicelli with apricots, prunes and bullion cube constantly — the vermicelli should turn golden but should not burn.
4. Add in 1/2 cup water and mix. Cover the pot and wait for the water to absorb.
5. Taste the vermicelli and see if it is cooked enough. Add water if it is still too al dente.
6. Eat and enjoy!
By the way — I was partially inspired to make and remake this dish because while 1/2 cup of fresh fruits or vegetables counts as a serving, 1/4 cup of dried fruits is a serving. Feed it to your kids guilt-free.
This piece was originally published in Egypt Independent’s weekly print edition.
