 Who doesn't love kibbeh? Kibbeh, which is ground meat (lamb or beef) and other spices/ingredients, is one of Lebanon's most popular dishes. No Lebanese feast is complete without it! In our last kibbeh recipe post, I mentioned that there were different ways to cook kibbeh. Our last post was called kibbeh bassal which is kibbeh with onions. In this post I will give the recipe for Kibbeh bil Sayniyeh which means kibbeh in the pan. This type of kibbeh has two layers, with a meat, onion and pine nut mixture between each layer. Traditionally lamb is used but we use ground beef. Feel free to use whichever you prefer! These ingredients will make one large round pan. Remember, feel free to use more or less of the ingredients and if you find that you've made too much, kibbeh makes a great leftover dish or freeze for another time! Ingredients:
Instructions: For Kibbeh layers: 1. Add meat, 2 tablespoons of minced onion, soaked bulgar, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt 2. Begin to knead the meat mixture with your hands until blended well. Use a cold bowl of water on the side keeping hands moist while handling the meat (this helps with handling the meat) 3. Set meat mixture aside For Hashweh: 1. Dice 8 ounces of ground beef 2. Dice 1 cup of onions 3. In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive over medium heat 4.Once the oil is heated, add onions and sauté until wilted (takes about 2 minutes) 5. Add meat, a couple dashes of pepper, a teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of allspice, and mix together until meat is cooked (my brother and I love sneaking bites of this mixture when it's cooked with pita bread, so yummy!) 6. In a separate pan, toast pine nuts and set aside (pine nuts can be toasted in a non-stick pan with or without oil, takes about 1-2 minutes) 7. To put together your kibbeh, you will need a 13x9 casserole dish (Eva uses a 15 inch diameter pan from Lebanon) and a separate bowl of ice water to dip your hands in while handling the kibbeh 8. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in the center of your casserole dish 9. Wet hands in your bowl of water and divide kibbeh meat in half. Place one half in the center of the pan on top of olive oil and spread out like a pizza (make it as even as possible)  10. Once evenly spread, pour in the cooked hashweh and spread evenly. Then evenly sprinkle on toasted pine nuts 11. For the top layer, wet your hands and grab a golf ball sized amount of kibbeh and flatten it out to a patty to about ¼ inch thick (or your preference) and add it on top of the hashweh (assemble each patty like a puzzle) 12. Once patties are done, wet palm of your hands with ice water and go over your top layer to eliminate any wrinkles. 13. With the back end of a spoon soaked with cold water, go around edge of pan to flatten out edges of kibbeh  14. With a knife (not soaked in water) pre-cut pieces of kibbeh before baking to your preference (Eva cuts from top to bottom 2 inches apart. Make sure you’re cutting all the way to the bottom layer) 15. Spin pan around and repeat making a diamond shape of the kibbeh or square shape depending the type of pan you use 16. With a fork, design each piece to your preference (optional of course)  17. Drizzle olive oil on the top and with the tip of your fingers spread the olive oil to cover the kibbeh 18. Broil on high 20 minutes by turning your pan around half way through. Drop oven to bake at 350 degrees for an additional 15 minutes  Sahtein! 
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 Kibbeh Nayeh (Arabic for raw kibbeh) is kibbeh flavored with different spices and served raw. Eating raw meat is popular in the Middle East and kibbeh nayeh is one of the most popular raw meat dishes in Lebanon. It is typically drizzled with olive oil and eaten with pita bread, radishes, scallions and/or cut up white onion. Personally, I think it is delicious! I also grew up eating it. I know of many friends who have tried it as adults and loved it too, so it is definitely worth trying if it's something you haven't eaten before. Be sure to prepare nayeh with the freshest meat possible - see your butcher if you have one local! You will need a food processor and only a few ingredients. Ingredients:
 1. Add 1/2 a pound of beef chunks with a tablespoon of crushed ice into food processor until it becomes paste-like. Remove that half and spread on a platter and then add another 1/2 a pound of beef chunks with a tablespoon of crushed ice cubes in food processor and repeat. (reason for this is to prevent meat from darkening)   2. Soak 1/2 a cup of bulgar in cold water for 15 minutes in a small bowl- drain any excess water  3. In a bowl, add all of your meat, a couple dashes of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and soaked bulgar (as well as any other optional minced ingredients you wish to add) and mix. While mixing, make sure to keep wetting your hands because the paste will get sticky.  4. Once the meat is mixed well place on a serving plate. Remember, drizzle olive oil on your serving before eating it with pita (some people prefer eating it without olive oil) Sahtein!   The best thing about kefta is that you can cook it in so many delicious ways! In this recipe, kefta is cooked with potatoes, a thick tomato sauce, and served over rice. Kefta bil sayniyeh is Arabic for kefta in a pan or casserole dish, (sayniyeh meaning pan). This recipe goes well over Eva's Riz Bil Sharieh, so be sure to check out the easy recipe here! Ingredients:
Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 2. In a bowl, add ground beef, onions, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and pinch of pepper and mix together well 3. Once kefta is mixed, form into golf ball sized balls and then into patties, and put onto platter (makes approximately 12 patties) 4. Peel 3 potatoes, rinse, and slice into rounds, then lightly salt ( a few dashes)  5. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium 6. Once oil is heated, place potatoes in pan until lightly browned on both sides 7. Once potatoes are golden brown, move them on to a plate covered with a paper towel (to collect excess oil) 8. If using a nonstick pan, no need to use additional oil for the patties, if not, drizzle some olive oil and place patties on same frying pan (about 3 minutes on each side) and fry until cooked. 9. In a casserole dish, layer bottom with potatoes. Add patties as a second layer, and then top with tomatoes 10. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water to casserole dish, and a pinch of salt and pepper 11. After 15 minutes in oven, add tomato sauce and spread (not mix) over top of meat, set timer for another 15 minutes
12. Begin cooking your rice 13. After 15 minutes if it’s boiling and bubbling, turn stove off and let rest for 5 minutes Enjoy!  What is more delicious than a Lebanese breakfast/lunch/dinner? A Lebanese dessert! Here’s our first (of many) dessert recipes that we will be sharing on the blog! Znoud El Sett (Arabic for Lady Arms) is ricotta cheese rolled in filo dough and then deep fried. It is not the healthiest dish (tons of sugar needed) but it is definitely delicious and makes a great treat to have every once in a while. In this recipe you will also learn how to cook the syrup called "atyr" that is eaten with Znoud El Sett. Some of you may also know atyr as the syrup that goes in baklava (recipe for that coming soon). Get ready for some rolling and deep frying! Ingredients:
 Instructions: 1. Put 2 cups of sugar in a small pot and add 1 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of rose water, on medium low heat, stir with wooden spoon and let it come to a boil (about 10 minutes) 2. After 10 minutes, at this point syrup has been boiling and thickening, turn stove off and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let cool off in pot 3. Cut filo dough in half vertically  4. Take two pieces of filo dough and put in front of you vertically, and take one and place horizontally towards the bottom facing you  5. Place 1 tablespoon of ricotta (or more if you want) in center on horizontal part. With your fingers, spread it out 6. Fold the left side to center, fold right to center, and fold up the bottom up to where cheese is, and roll 7. Dip end of roll in tiny bit of water to hold into place   8. Keep doing this until you are done using up the filo dough and/or your ricotta, if in a cool area, filo will dry quick, so use a dry linen cloth to cover filo as you work with it if needed 9. In deep frying pan, on medium heat, add a cup of crisco into pan to melt (you need enough to cover pastry while frying) 10. Once crisco is melted, carefully place each roll into pan, not too closely so they don’t stick together. If you didn't add enough crisco, you can gently turn them around to make sure each part gets covered, takes about 1 or 2 minutes on each side, remove when they are golden brown 11. Remove to a plate with a paper towel covering it Sahtein! :) |
