Ingredients
Casings
- 1sheep’s stomach and a length of large intestine, thoroughly cleaned
- coarse salt
- flour
- lemon and vinegar
Filling
- 300 grice, rinsed
- 400 glamb liver, heart and lung, finely chopped
- 200 glamb fat, chopped
- 3onions, finely chopped
- 1large bunch parsley
- 1 bunchcoriander
- 1 bunchmint
- 2 tbsptomato paste
Spices
- 2 tbspbzaar, the Libyan spice mix
- 1 tspturmeric
- 1 tspcumin
- 1 tspchilli
- 1 tspblack pepper
- salt
To cook
- a couscoussier, or a large steamer over a pot of stew
To serve
- with couscous
- with the broth
Directions
- Turn the intestine inside out and rinse it under running water repeatedly. Rub it hard with coarse salt and flour, inside and out. Salt and flour together act as an abrasive and lift the film that water alone leaves behind. Rinse and repeat three or four times.
- Keep going until it smells clean and neutral. The stomach needs the same treatment, scrubbed thoroughly on both sides. Leave everything in cold water with lemon until you are ready. Chop the offal and fat finely by hand rather than mincing it. Hand-chopping keeps distinct pieces with texture, where mincing gives a uniform paste.
- Chop the onions and all the herbs very finely. Use a great deal of herb. Parsley, coriander and mint together are what make usban green inside and fragrant, and a token handful is not enough. Mix everything with the rinsed raw rice, tomato paste and all the spices. Use noticeably less rice than the volume of the casing suggests. Fill the casings only about half to two-thirds full.
- Tie one end of the intestine tightly with cotton thread and spoon the filling in through a funnel. Work it down evenly and do not pack it. It should feel loose and slack in the casing rather than firm. Tie the other end and tie it into sections if you like. Pricking lets steam escape as the rice swells, and it is what stops the casing splitting.
- Make a lamb and vegetable stew in the base of a couscoussier. Set the usban in the upper steamer basket, or lay them directly in the stew. Cook them for about 2 hours in all. If simmering them in the stew, keep it at a bare simmer and never a boil.
- Prick them again in the first twenty minutes as they swell. They are done when the rice inside is completely cooked and a skewer pushed in comes out clean. Lift them out and let them rest 10 minutes. Now slice them into thick rounds. Cut them once they have settled, since slicing them straight from the pot makes them crumble.
- Serve them with couscous and a ladle of the broth from the pot. The slices show a green herby rice studded with offal, which is what usban should look like inside.
Technique
- It is tied directly to Eid al-Adha and the use of the whole animal.
- Butchers in Libya sell it ready-stuffed.
- Tunisian osbane is the close relative.
Substitutions
- Sausage casings from a butcher, if stomach and intestine are unavailable.
- Beef offal in place of lamb.
Variations
- Made in the stomach rather than the intestine.
- With more rice and less offal, which is milder.
- Simmered in the stew rather than steamed.
History
Made from the Eid al-Adha sheep so nothing is wasted: the stomach or intestine is stuffed with rice, herbs and offal and steamed above couscous.
Frequently asked questions
What is Usban?
Usban is a main from Libya: casings stuffed with rice, herbs and offal, steamed or simmered; festive dish. Made from the Eid al-Adha sheep so nothing is wasted: the stomach or intestine is stuffed with rice, herbs and offal and steamed above couscous.
How long does Usban take to make?
Usban takes 2 hr of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Usban?
Yes, within limits. Sausage casings from a butcher, if stomach and intestine are unavailable. Beef offal in place of lamb.
What is the most important thing to get right in Usban?
Keep going until it smells clean and neutral. The stomach needs the same treatment, scrubbed thoroughly on both sides. Leave everything in cold water with lemon until you are ready. Chop the offal and fat finely by hand rather than mincing it. Hand-chopping keeps distinct pieces with texture, where mincing gives a uniform paste.
