Matt Smith ’21 is a junior history and Middle Eastern studies major at Elizabethtown College. He is currently studying abroad in Amman, Jordan, and he recently had the opportunity to learn how to cook the traditional Jordanian dish Maabouleh – or “upside down”!
The main ingredient in Maabouleh is rice, which is seasoned with several spices and hand-mixed – though, Matt shared, his attempt at mixing ended up with more rice on the table than in the bowl. While the rice was cooking, they also prepared a salad and two other dishes.
Maabouleh gets its name from the way it is flipped upside down to remove it from the pot. It resembles like a cake once removed and, Matt said, tastes even better than it looks.
Matt enjoyed learning how to make Maabouleh from a local kitchen and looks forward to making it once he returns home!
To read Matt’s full account of his Jordanian cooking adventure, visit his blog post published by CIEE on September 9, 2019. Click on the hyperlinks above to learn more about CIEE and their Amman, Jordan program.
About the Author – Matt Smith ’21, Fall 2019, Semester in Amman, Jordan
Matt Smith is a History and Middle Eastern Studies major at Elizabethtown College. He also has a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Additionally, he’s an E-town Global Scholar and has previously worked for The Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking. Prior to studying abroad in Jordan, Matt participated in an E-town Faculty-led Study Abroad Program in South Africa.
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