Ingredients
Stuffing
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ cup pine nuts
200g minced lamb
½ bunch coriander, finely chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
Salt and pepper
Kibbeh Dough
1 cup very fine burghul
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp za’atar
1 tbsp ras el hanout
500g minced lamb
Oil for deep frying
To serve
Labneh
Chopped chives
Sumac
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Soak the burghul in water for 1 hour, then drain and place in a food processor. Blitz for a couple of minutes until it comes together like a dough.
To make the stuffing, in a frypan over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes until translucent, then add the pine nuts, lamb, coriander, cinnamon, allspice and salt and pepper. Break the mince up with the back of a spoon then cook until brown all over. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Place the onion, garlic, cinnamon and allspice in the food processor and blitz until combined. Add the lamb mince, za’atar, ras el hanout and 1 tablespoon of the burghul dough and process again until smooth. Transfer to a bowl with the remaining burghul and mix together by hand until combined.
With wet hands, take a ball of the kibbeh dough and flatten in the palm of your hand. Add a teaspoon of the cooked lamb stuffing then fold in the kibbeh dough to seal and roll into a ball again. Repeat with remaining kibbeh and stuffing.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 180°C, then carefully drop in the kibbeh. Deep fry for about 5 minutes until golden and crispy all over, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
Serve the warm kibbeh with labneh and a sprinkling of chives and sumac.