Around the World in Foodventures (Saudi Arabia: JAREESH a/k/a HAREES)

It seems that Kabsa is the official national dish of Saudi Arabia, but I already made something that is substantially or actually the same when I hit up Qatar (see my November 2019 Machboos post) -- so instead, for today's virtual culinary trip, I made Jareesh (also known as Harees and sometimes referred to as "wheat soup"). It's basically a porridge born from a mixture of rice and some other grain (in this instance: barley), made creamy by adding various fermented dairy products, and then topped with deliciously spiced caramelized onions.  It's traditionally eaten during Ramadan or wedding celebrations, and sometimes contains meat.  I chose to go with the vegetarian style.

It wasn't easy to find a completely clear recipe (even though it's prolific and every family has their own version) -- so after consulting with a good friend who is from and lives in Saudi Arabia (and who a couple years ago gave me the adorable salt & pepper shakers you see in the photo ❤), I settled on a combination of these two videos:

• https://youtu.be/nylr5Eqa6n8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGErBcqWR68

The verdict?  It's good!  My husband took a taste of it and immediately asked "Is there enough for another serving?"  Unfortunately, we already ate all the onion topping.  Maybe we put more than is normal on each of our bowls, I don't know . . . but I can either make more of that to put on the rest of the pot, or we can mix other things in; like granola or fruit or, really, anything would be yummy in here.

This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as I'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)

“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain