One of my favorite Lebanese dishes is Kibbeh (also, Kibby, Kibbe). It is usually shaped like a football-ish meatball. It is a shell of meat and bulgar containing loose browned seasoned meat and deep fried. It is a great introduction to Lebanese food. There are several variations of kibbeh, including a Raw Kibbeh (the raw kibbeh is shaped into a flat meatloaf shape and topped with the cooked filling, hashwee, and drizzled with olive oil), and Baked Kibbeh (ingredients layered in a baking dish, cut into diamond shapes and baked).
Kibbeh
Ingredients:2 lbs lean ground beef (or lamb)
4 cups #1 cracked wheat (bulgar)
2 medium onions
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon and allspice
1 teaspoon dried mint (2 tablespoons fresh)1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Kibbeh stuffing (see recipe below)
Directions:
- Wash wheat and let soak about 20 minutes.
- In blender, put onions, mint, basil and 1/2 cup water, blend for a few seconds.
- Squeeze water out of wheat and place in large bowl.
- Season wheat with salt, pepper and spices, knead with hands.
- Add meat and blender mixture to wheat, knead. Add a little water if necessary.
- Set aside and make stuffing.
Kibbeh Filling (Hashwee)
Ingredients2 pounds ground chuck
3 onions, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon all spice
juice of one lemonsalt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Brown meat until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Drain fat.
- Add onions and seasonings, simmer until onions are tender.
- Add lemon juice.
Take about 1/3 cup of the shell ingredients and make a small patty. Hollow the patty, fill with hashwee mixture and seal the hole. Deep fry kibbeh until done.
Yogurt Sauce (make the day before)
6 - 8 ounces plain yogurt (preferable whole milk, greek style)
1/2 cucumber, seeded
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
- Strain the yogurt overnight in cheese cloth or a coffee filter.
- Seed cucumber, chop into small pieces and dry with paper towels.
- Mix cucumber, mint and a pinch of salt into yogurt.
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