Kibbeh roll with onion jam and pistachios

November 26, 2009  •  Category:

 

في  مناسبة  عيد  الاضحى  المبارك   كل  سنة  وانتم  بخير

Best wishes on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha to everyone!


This is the classic kibbé made into a roll instead of the traditional meatball version. It is inspired by the (heavenly) pastry burma of shredded wheat and pistachios dipped in syrup and hails from the Syrian culinary Mecca, Aleppo. I tweaked the recipe a bit by omitting the meat in the stuffing. The result here is a kibbé that is extra moist, stuffed with onion jam and pistachios with the delicious sweet and sour taste of pomegranate molasses.

I consulted Marlene Mattar’s Maeedat Marlene for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will make 2 rolls, or 8 to 10 servings

FOR THE MEAT SHELL:

  • 1 pound of extra-lean meat (lamb or  beef or  veal)
  • 1 cup of fine bulgur (#1)
  • 1 medium-size onion (about 5 ounces)
  • Spices: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, allspice, salt, white pepper. Pinch of nutmeg and paprika.

FOR THE STUFFING:

  • 2 large onions (about 1 pound or 500 g)
  • 2 cups of pistachios
  • Spices: 2 teaspoons of sumak, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves, salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 generous tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
  • 3  tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter

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METHOD:

Making the kibbé shell:

  1. Place the onion in a food processor or chop very finely by hand.  Place the bulgur in a bowl, add some water and soak for 15 seconds. Drain immediately and push all the extra water out. Add the drained bulgur to the onion and  mix a few seconds. Add the spices. Remove the mixture.
  2. Place the meat in the processor. Process for 3 minutes.
  3. Place the bulgur and onion and spice mixture back in the processor along with the meat. Process 3 minutes until the mixture is compact. Check for seasoning, adding extra salt, pepper or any spice that suits your fancy.
  4. Place the kibbé in a bowl and refrigerate (up to one day) until needed.

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Making the stuffing:

  1. Peel the pistachios (optional) by either pouring boiling water over them and then peeling them a half hour later or tap water for 2 hours or longer.
  2. Chop the onions.  Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet and then fry the onions gently, stirring from time to time, for about 20 minutes. When golden, add the spices and fry another 20 minutes. Add the pomegranate molasses and the pistachios and fry another 5 minutes until the mixture is very soft and the onions are brown. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more pomegranate molasses if you wish.
  3. Cool the stuffing a few minutes while you prepare the kibbé roll or refrigerate for a while till ready.

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ASSEMBLING THE KIBBE ROLL:

  1. Divide the meat mixture in two balls of  equal size
  2. Grease two long sheets of aluminum foil and set side by side and cut two sheets of wax paper as well.
  3. On top of the foil, set one ball of meat dough. Flatten it with your hands and place the wax paper on top of the dough. Roll the dough into a 10 inchX 7 inch rectangle
  4. Place half the filling along the long side of the rectangle of dough. Fold the dough over and press the extremities until the sausage is formed. Wrap in the foil, pressing the sides like a candy wrapper.
  5. Do the same thing with the other dough. Place both rolls on a cookie sheet or metal pan and bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes or so.
  6. Remove the foil from the kibbé rolls and (this is an optional step) brush with some butter or olive oil all over. Flip the roll over so that the seam is side down and bake another 10 minutes until the roll is brown and shiny.
  7. Let it rest a couple of minutes and cut into slices and serve. This can also be served at room temperature. Serve it with a salad or yoghurt salad if you wish.

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Comments

23 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Rosa says:

    Thatr looks so mouthwatering! A very unique recipe!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. Simply Life says:

    Oh my, this sounds AMAZING!!!

  3. senga50 says:

    Nouvelle douceur… le temps de revoir ce grillage en caramel qui me plaît…

  4. Joanne says:

    I love kibbe in it’s traditional form but this looks like a ton of fun to eat. I love the various flavors that you added to it with the onion jam, pistachios, and pomegranate. It must have tasted amazing!

  5. Alépine says:

    Ca me fait plaisir de voir la kibbé mabroumé sur ton blog parce que j’avais justement envie de la faire pour ce 3id ! Ta garniture est originale, j’aurais bien aimé goûté 😉

  6. Asia Jo says:

    Sound like a fabulous recipe!

  7. spice says:

    Eid mubarak to u also, Joumana….My list of “To try” recipes from your blog is getting bigger day by day…

  8. Pam says:

    This looks wonderful. I just so happen to have a bottle of pomegranate molasses in my pantry perfect for making this dish. Thanks, Pam

  9. Sophie says:

    This sounds so good to me!! waw!! they surely look excellent to me!!

    MMMMMMMMMMMM,…

  10. Cocotte says:

    Grâce à ton passage, je découvre ton blog… et hop, dans les favoris!

  11. maninas says:

    stunning. i’m especially intrigued by the onion jam!

  12. HistoryOf GreekFood says:

    It looks so juicy and flavorful! A delightful Mediterranean dish!

  13. Murasaki Shikibu says:

    These look really interesting. 🙂 I’m not sure if I saw a spice mix for Sumak on your site, but if you do – could you please link it? I don’t think I can find Sumak here.

    • Joumana says:

      Hi Murasaki
      Sumak or sumac is a spice that is available in any ethnic grocery stores. It comes from a shrub and is used in Turkish, Persian and all middle-eastern cooking. It gives a reddish hue to food and the flavor is pleasantly (and mildly) sour. I am sure you can find it in Spain, but if not there is buylebanese.com listed on my blogroll that sells it online. They sell it in a large quantity (1 kilo) because it is used a lot in Lebanese cuisine, mainly to add a lemony taste to food, turnovers filled with spinach and chard, stews, etc. You can substitute lemon juice for sumak or a pinch of citric acid.
      Other online purveyors: the great american spice company, penzey’s

  14. Ivy says:

    Wow, this sounds amazing.

  15. amal says:

    Bonsoir
    J’adore cette recette, je la met de côté pour l’essayer..
    bonne fête
    à bientôt

  16. rebecca says:

    oh wow this looks so good, Happy Eid love Rebecca

  17. Arlette says:

    oh wow
    how did i miss this posting…. very interesting… I bookmarked the recipe.
    I like it my friend….

  18. zoon says:

    I never tried this shape of Kebbé before. it seem easier than the Kébbé Kbeb (oblong stuffed balls)

  19. Lena says:

    What a great idea. As a sushi lover this would be a great addition to a dinner party.

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