Lebanese Baked Kibbe
Serve with a Greek salad or cucumber and yogurt salad (see recipe at bottom). If you are serving the yogurt salad, omit the dill and garnish it with chopped fresh mint.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8
- 2 cups fine-grain bulgur
- ¼ cup dried onion flakes
- 4 cups water
- 2 ½ pounds ground lamb
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- ¼ cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
In a bowl, mix the bulgur and onion flakes together; add the water and set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
Drain the bulgur and mix it with 2 pounds of the ground lamb and the parsley, salt, allspice, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, mint, and water.
Melt the butter in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Add the remaining ½ pound of ground lamb, pine nuts, onion, ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon allspice, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the onions are transparent. Remove the meat mixture from the pan and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Coat the bottom of the Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Press half of the bulgur-lamb mixture into the pan. Evenly spread the sautéed lamb mixture over the bulgur-lamb mixture. Spoon the remaining bulgur-lamb mixture on top and use the back of a spoon or a spatula to press it down evenly over the sautéed mixture.
Drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the casserole. Bake for 20 minutes; reduce the oven temperature to 300 °F and bake for another 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
To serve, cut into 8 wedges; use a spatula to remove each wedge from the pan.
