These vegan kibbeh balls are made with pumpkin and bulgur and stuffed with chard, onions and walnuts.

They were traditionally prepared for fasting days.

These vegetarian kibbeh are also called tricky or lying kibbeh (kibbeh heeleh or kazzabeh ) because they are supposed to look like the meat kibbeh but do not contain any meat.

I saw them made by Asma, a wonderful  Kurdish lady and great cook and wanted to share her technique and tips. A short clip showing her making them is posted on youtube as well on the TasteofBeirut channel.

INGREDIENTS: 8 servings

• 2 cups of fine bulgur (#1 )
• 4 cups of cooked pumpkin
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs or bits of pita bread soaked in pumpkin  water and squeezed dry
• Spices: Salt, to taste; 1 1/2 tbsp of dried mint; 1/2 tsp of white pepper; 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon. (Feel free to adjust the spices according to your taste).
• Filling: 1 cup of chopped walnuts
• 4 cups of shredded swiss chard (or other green)
• 2 large onions
• 2 tbsp of sumac
• 3 tbsp of   lemon juice
• Salt, to taste
• olive oil as needed
• vegetable oil for frying

METHOD:

1. Soak the bulgur for 5 minutes  in water; drain and squeeze dry. Cook the pumpkin pieces and drain as well, squeezing them to release any remaining moisture while setting aside any pumpkin liquid to use later on to shape the kibbeh balls. Place the pumpkin meat and bulgur in a bowl, mixing them with a spoon and set aside to allow the bulgur to soak up any bit of pumpkin juice left; grate the onion using a box grater over the pumpkin-bulgur mixture, add the fresh breadcrumbs and  spices and set the kibbeh mixture aside while you prepare the filling.
2. Wash and dry the chard; cut into narrow strips then cut the strips into small bits; chop the onions and fry in olive oil till softened. Add the chard and cook over low heat until softened. Add the walnuts and cook for a couple of minutes. Transfer the filling to a bowl adding sumac, lemon juice and salt to taste.
3. Mix the kibbeh dough either by hand or in a food processor until the mixture holds together and is moist. If needed, add a tablespoon or more of pumpkin juice or more breadcrumbs if the dough is too crumbly. Form egg-sized balls of dough and place them on a baking sheet next to you; starting with one ball, core it with the index finger while cupping it with the palm of the opposite hand (refer to the video to get a clearer picture). Stuff with 2 or 3 teaspoons of filling and enclose the kibbeh ball.

Fry the balls in several cups of hot vegetable oil for about 3 minutes until orange-brown and crispy. Serve with some additional lemon quarters if desired; a side dish of hummus is a good addition.

NOTE: These kibbeh can be boiled in salted boiling water for a few minutes; drain and coat in a dressing of mashed garlic lemon juice and olive oil.

NOTE: Asma says that the texture of this kibbeh must be similar to the meat kibbeh dough.

A tip I found in one of Nada Saleh’s book is to use an egg cup to shape these; place the ball in the cup and use your fingers to flatten it, stuff and enclose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This recipe was extracted from Roland Mesnier’s Dessert University. Roland Mesnier, a French native, was the Executive Pastry Chef at the White House for twenty-five years and fed the likes of President Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and others.

Well if it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for us too!

This bread is as simple as can be. I barely tweaked it (can’t help it).

INGREDIENTS: 8 servings

• 1 cup of fresh or canned pumpkin (preferably organic)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of apple cider molasses (the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar); you can substitute dark honey for the molasses. See note below on a source for the apple cider molasses.
• 1/2 cup of sunflower oil
• Dry ingredients: 1 1/4 cup of flour (recipe calls for 1 cup; I added 1/4 cup due to the addition of molasses)
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Place the eggs, sugar, molasses and oil in a bowl and mix for 5 minutes at medium-high speed; add the pumpkin and mix to combine.
2. Sift the dry mixture onto the pumpkin batter and mix to combine. Pour into the pan of your choice, previously greased and floured. The recipe used a 10-cup bundt pan; I had no problem with a standard loaf pan.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or so, checking to make sure a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean; it is a good idea after 20 minutes or so if the bread has browned but the middle is still uncooked to cover it with foil.
4. When baked un-mold it on a rack to cool it quickly and serve. It keeps 3 days covered at room temperature and can be frozen for 2 months. If freezing it, wrap in plastic then in foil.

NOTE:  Apple cider molasses is made by Allens Hill Farm  in upstate New York and can be purchased through their website.

It is a natural molasses made from apple cider following an old pioneer-era recipe. This type of molasses is also produced in Lebanon but is not (to my knowledge) exported.

Feeling compassion and a heavy heart for folks who have to endure a tragic and nightmarish situation  in Libya, I escaped  into the kitchen and made a very ancient and traditional Libyan dish, bazin.

Libya is an extraordinary country with a wide coastline of beautiful beaches and a rich history replete with Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and finally Italian presence. Incredible archeological sights, with a capital, Tripoli, described as the Bologna of Africa due to  its Italian architecture.

Mona al-Khalil, whom I met in Tyre, Lebanon, who has been protecting the giant turtles’ eggs off her coastline, told me then (in reply to my question): “Do you know where in the Mediterranean giant turtles go to lay their eggs? the Libyan coast!”

What is bazin?

It is like a giant dumpling, made of barley flour, and served in the middle of the plate surrounded by a stew. The traditional way is to eat it with one’s fingers. A rustic and filling tomato-based dish,  redolent of spices such as paprika (mild and hot) and turmeric.

INGREDIENTS: 4 to 6 servings

• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 pound of lamb shoulder chops or beef stew or chicken
• Potatoes or pumpkins, cut up (figure on one medium potato per serving)
• 4 Tablespoons of tomato paste or 4 large tomatoes, peeled and cut in dice
• Spices: 1 Tablespoon of paprika, one tablespoon of hot paprika, 1/2 Tablespoon of turmeric, salt, black pepper
• olive oil, as needed
• 2 cups of barley flour, preferably organic (250 g.)

METHOD:

1. Make the stew first: Heat the pot, add the olive oil and the onions and fry the onions for a few minutes; add the lamb chops or stew meat and brown for 15 minutes, flipping it every 5 minutes.
2. Add the paprika, both hot and mild, turmeric, salt, black pepper, tomato paste and 3 cups of water. Close the lid and let the stew simmer for 30 minutes or so, adding more water if necessary.
3. Add the potatoes or pumpkin pieces to the stew (or both) and cook 25 minutes longer, adding more water to the pot. Uncover the pot towards the end of cooking time to let the sauce thicken a bit and taste, adjusting seasoning.
4. Make the dumpling: Pour a quart of water into a pot; add 1/4 cup of oil and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Dump the barley flour on the simmering water and without touching it, let the mass of flour float and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mass of dough into a bowl, reserving the cooking water nearby. Using a long stick or a long and thin rolling pin, start stirring the dough, gradually adding more water, until the dough becomes a compact and smooth form, just like a cookie dough. Pinch off large pieces of dough and form into a mound in the middle of the plate, using a large spoon to form a crater in the middle.
5. Spoon the hot stew on the crater and all around the dumpling. Serve.

NOTE: The stew can be prepared with fish or chicken as well. While eating it with one’s fingers was traditional amongst tribes in the desert, I feel more comfortable eating this with a fork and a spoon for catching the sauce! The barley flour can be substituted with wheat flour or rice flour.

Once the dumplings have been formed, it is OK to put them in the stew to keep them warm.

Thank God for soups! I love them, don’t you?

All you need here is some winter vegetables and a chicken. I used canned pumpkin, and some taro root from the neighborhood supermarket. Taro is similar to potatoes in taste, just with a more pronounced flavor.

Taro root is popular in Lebanon and the Middle-East. It is called kolkass in Arabic.

If you want to avoid peeling and cutting it, it is available at Middle-eastern grocers frozen and already cut up.

It is a simple but filling soup, based on a chicken cooked in its broth, some pumpkin purée and the taro (aka colocase) cut up in chunks. Flavored with turmeric and onions.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small chicken or a few chicken parts, about 2 to 3 pounds
• several onions, chopped
• 2 cans of pumpkin
• Seasonings: salt, bay leaves, 1 Tablespoon of turmeric, 2 garlic cloves, white pepper, paprika, a dash of cinnamon *and whatever else you fancy at the time)
• 1 or 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 pounds of taro roots or a bag of frozen and cut up taro (colocasia)
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream or several packets of kiri or any other creamy spread cheese (optional)

METHOD:

1. Clean the chicken by rubbing it with a cut lemon. Rub some oil on it (sesame, olive, canola, corn). Season it with salt, pepper, turmeric and cinnamon all over. Heat a pot and when it is hot, place the chicken in it fry it in the pot all over till golden throughout. Add 6 cups of tap water (depending on the size of the bird, adding more if necessary), the bay leaves, the chopped onion, garlic cloves and bring to a simmer. Simmer the chicken in its broth for one hour or until it is cooked and tender. Turn off the heat, cool a bit and drain.
2. Collect the broth in the pot. Cut the chicken pieces in small segments and discard bones and skin. Set aside. Peel the taro root (use gloves) and cut in chunks, placing the chunks in the chicken broth.

1. Place the pot over the stove, bring to a steady simmer and add the pumpkin. Stir a bit and let it simmer until the taro are cooked, about 15 minutes. Add some cream at this point and simmer for another 15 minutes or so, tasting the soup to adjust the seasoning. Add the cut-up chicken pieces at the end. Serve warm.

TIP: If you decide to peel and cut the taro in advance, make sure to wear gloves and place the chunks in a bowl of water in which you will squeeze some fresh lemon juice.

Feel free to play around with the spices in this soup; with both these vegetables and chicken, pretty much anything goes!

Prepared during times of fasting, this kibbeh is common in Lebanese mountain villages; one can use any type of squash, pumpkin being the most common. It is filled usually with greens and some chick peas and onions and some of the spices used are sumac, cumin, cinnamon and allspice.

There are many regional variations to this traditional vegetarian kibbeh, so feel free to experiment. I used turnip greens here (unbelievably nutritious) but any greens will do or you may skip them altogether. The filling is strongly flavored with sumac, or one can use lemon or a pinch of citric acid instead.

This kibbeh can be served warm or at room temperature; it can pair well with some yogurt or some coriander chutney.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound (454 g) of turnip greens or any other (spinach, arugula, purslane, etc)
• 2 large onions, chopped, and divided in half
• 1 can of chick peas (or 2 cups of cooked chick peas)
• 3 tablespoons of sumac
• 1/3 cup of pine nuts
• 3.5 pounds pumpkin (equal to almost 2 pounds of cooked pumpkin or 1 kilo)
• 1 1/2 cups of fine bulgur #1
• 2 slices of American-style white bread (or any soft bread)
• 2 eggs (optional)
• Spices for the kibbeh: 2 teaspoons of  Aleppo pepper (or paprika or chili powder),1 teaspoon each of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, salt, white pepper
• clarified butter or olive oil or any other oil, as needed

METHOD:

1. Cook the pumpkin till soft (either in the oven or steam); peel, and mash the pumpkin flesh in a processor. Place in a large sieve and drain for several hours or overnight.
2. Make the filling: Steam the greens until soft and drain them well. Stir-fry the onions in some olive oil till caramelized. Add the drained can of chick peas and about one cup of caramelized onions to the greens in a bowl. Sprinkle with sumac and some white pepper, taste to adjust seasonings and set aside. (One can also add some pine nuts, previously roasted).
3. Take the drained pumpkin and place in a large bowl. Rinse the bulgur in a bowl a couple of times and let it sit till soft a couple of minutes. Drain the bulgur and press to remove all water from it. Add to the bowl with the pumpkin and the chopped onion.
4. Add the fresh breadcrumbs, the eggs, the spices and mix well. Taste to adjust the seasoning. Grease a 10X2 inch pan and place half the kibbeh batter all over the pan. Add the filling on top, using a plastic sheet to help spread it evenly. Cover with the other half of kibbeh, smoothing it out with a spatula.
5. Score the kibbeh with a knife, forming two diagonal lines. Decorate with pine nuts if you like and cover with a few knobs of butter or brush with some oil. Bake in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Some recipes add chopped parsley to the pumpkin kibbeh batter.

TIP: Save the water from the drained pumpkin; you should have at least one cup of pumpkin water. Freeze and use in a soup or in making bread.

Pumpkin hummus is lighter-tasting than the usual one with garbanzo beans, yet it is just as addictive.

Click  for the recipe here.

Spiced rice is used as a stuffing for chicken or turkey. It is flavorful, not spicy-hot. Minced lamb is added to the rice and it is garnished with almonds, pine nuts, pistachios and chestnuts.

For a recipe, click here.

Pomegranate salad is sweet and refreshing. The nuts give it some crunch.

For a recipe, click here.

This green beans, tomatoes and onions dish is flavored with a lot of garlic and is served at room temperature.

For a recipe, click here.

These cauliflower fritters are served with a tahini and lemon sauce and are served at room temperature.

For a recipe, click here.

This labneh (yogurt cheese) and roquefort (blue cheese) mousse, sorry mouse, is served with potato chips.

For a recipe, click here.

This pumpkin bavarian is light and luscious as a finale.

For a recipe, click here.

When McDonald’s opened a franchise in Lebanon a few years ago, I felt indignation, contempt, anger and frustration. I just could not understand how my fellow Lebanese who had always been so keen on good food and fresh ingredients would patronize the king of fast foods. Reality has set in and now that there are several McDonald’s (as well as Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin donuts etc) franchises in the country, I have become more placid about the whole affair.

So much so that the other day, as I was walking home, passing by the American University of Beirut (AUB), I glanced at the McDonald’s window, and lo and behold, saw something I did not expect: our very own biscuit au chocolat, as well as other sweets, an espresso machine and a sign: McCafé.

I walked in and asked the young man ” What is going on? Is this really McDonald’s? “He handed me a leaflet and said ” Lady, these McCafés are all over, even in America”.

I had to try my childhood’s  most favorite  renamed at McDonald’s Lazy Cake. It was actually good (hate to admit it), save for the glaze which was no ganache, of course.

However, their latest McArabia sandwich, a pseudo gyro with reheated frozen chicken patties was inedible.

But going back to real food, and pumpkins which have started to appear this season;  with the first whiff of fresh air, soup was in order.

Less is more when it comes to pumpkin soup; this pumpkin soup is velvety, sweet and smooth. Yet it has not a trace of sugar, nor cream.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds of fresh pumpkin
• 1 white onion
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cube of chicken Maggi or 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• salt, pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Chop the onion fine. Clean the pumpkin of all the filaments, separate the seeds and clean them under running water.
2. Sprinkle the seeds with salt and roast in a slow oven or dry in a sunny spot. (this step is optional, but highly recommended, as pumpkin seeds are full of health benefits)
3. Melt the butter, add the onion and fry gently for 4 minutes. Add the pumpkin, cut in coarse chunks and fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the water and bouillon cube or chicken stock as well as the cinnamon, salt and pepper. Simmer for 45 minutes.
5. Cool the soup till lukewarm and process in a blender till smooth, adjust seasoning as needed. Serve with the roasted pumpkin seeds.

Click here for a biscuit au chocolat or Lazy Cake recipe or chocolate salami recipe.

I found out about this event a few days ago. Sounded very interesting especially since Turkey was the first country mentioned and I am going to visit Istanbul for the first time in December!

Prior to this dish, you would have mentioned pumpkin dessert to me, and frankly you would not have gotten a very enthusiastic response. NOT ANYMORE.  I guarantee that you will swoon (like I did) when you taste this! I am now going to have to serve it at Thanksgiving dinner, and that’s all there is to it! This dessert encapsulates all that one is looking for in a pumpkin pie, sweetness, richness, smoothness, the wonderful taste of a mellow fruit, with none of the unnecessary additions, such as a crust or eggs or extra spices. Pure flavor. Deep pleasure.

All that is required is roasting a few slices of pumpkin, caramelizing them with some sugar and placing a dollop of thick cream or kaimak on top!

Recipe is from Seductive Flavours of the Levant by Nada Saleh. She brought this recipe back with her from Turkey. I have always been awed by the legacies of the Ottomans who ruled our region for 400 years and had heard stories from my grandmother about al-atraak, as she called them. Not very happy stories I am afraid, but at least in the culinary realm, there is so much that we can be thankful for as  we learned a lot from their extraordinary culture.

I have adapted this recipe  by roasting the pumpkin slices instead of cooking them on the stove and using brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will serve 4

4 (or more) pieces of pumpkin, peeled and placed side by side in a pan

brown sugar (or white sugar) as needed (depends on how many slices of pumpkin you use), about 1 1/2 cup

cream: can be kaimak, or mascarpone, or homemade ashta or heavy whipping cream, whipped

METHOD:

1. Cut the pumpkin, starting at the top, and cut in smallish slices (about 5X7 inches)
2. Peel the pumpkin slices (I was feeling lazy and I left them un-peeled, OK, you just peel them later!
3. Place the pumpkin slices  in a pan large enough so that they can all fit in one layer
4. Cover the pumpkin slices very generously with sugar, cover the pan and let it sit overnight.
5. Heat the oven to 350F and roast the pumpkin slices, basting them with the sugar syrup every so often.
6. Bake until the pumpkin slices are thoroughly cooked and soft, about 45 minutes for 4 large pieces.
7. Turn the broiler on and let the pumpkin slices broil and caramelize for a couple of minutes.
8. Remove from the oven. Serve warm with a dollop of kaimak, or whipped cream or mascarpone cheese.

NOTE:

Kaimak is a thick cream that can be found in ethnic or middle-eastern stores. A good substitute can be mascarpone cheese.

I love to be able to get, in Dallas, Texas, from the comfort of home, a

Now we do have our own type of couscous in Lebanon; its grains are bigger. and the spices used are always caraway and cumin and we call it moghrabiyeh, which means “from the Maghreb”; however it is not at all like the north-african couscous. Its grains are much bigger. In the US, they call it “israeli couscous” for some reason!

Today, this couscous is the one from Morocco. To get more detailed information, I consulted Paula Wolfert’s Couscous and other good food from Morocco, a book I bought decades ago. She describes this couscous as being ultra-refined and rustic at the same time.  I liked the fact that you don’t need a zillion ingredients. Lamb, carrots, pumpkin, onion and raisins and chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1  can cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 pound of couscous
• 1 1/2  pounds  lamb shanks, cut up by the butcher into smaller pieces
• 2 large Spanish onions, sliced
• salt, black pepper, to taste
• Fresh ginger, grated (1 tablespoon)
• 2 pinches saffron
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 cup sweet butter, clarified till a bit nutty in taste (golden brown in color)
• 1 pound carrots, scraped and cut in 2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound black raisins

METHOD:

1. Heat the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onions, sliced and the lamb shanks.
2. Add the spices and  brown the lamb shanks.
3. Add 2 quarts of water. Boil then reduce the heat and simmer for one hour.
4. Add the carrots, raisins and sugar to the pot and cook another 30 minutes.
5. Add the pumpkin and chickpeas to the pot and cook another 30 minutes.
6. Prepare the couscous, using package directions and a portion of the broth from the pot.
7. Serve.

NOTE:

After browning the lamb and onions and adding the stock and spices and cooking the mix for one hour, I let it cool and resume the cooking the next day. That way, I can remove all the fat that has congealed on the surface. I will keep some for the couscous grain later, and usually discard the rest ( unless I needed it for another dish, in which case I freeze it)

In the US, when you say pumpkin, one immediately pictures a creamy sweet and luscious pumpkin pie. In the Levant, although we do have a pumpkin confection, pumpkin is also savory.

This is a dip and is prepared just like the hummus be-tahini. It has the same lilting flavor of garlic and lemon and the pumpkin gives it an ethereal taste, instead of the somewhat rustic flavor of  the chick pea hummus.

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will serve up to 6

• Pumpkin, small  size. I used a 2 pound pumpkin
• Lemon juice from one and a half  lemon
• 4 garlic cloves, mashed  with a pinch of salt in a mortar
• 2 Tablespoons of tahini (don’t forget to stir the jar before pouring)
• parsley ( garnish, optional)

METHOD:

1. Cut the pumpkin in small pieces and discard the strings and if you like save the seeds (they are good for you!)
2. Place the pieces in a pan and add some water to come up to about half-way.
3. Place the pan in the oven and bake at a moderate heat (about 350F) for about 30 minutes
4. Check by inserting a knife in the pumpkin pieces. Remove from the oven when cooked. Cool a bit. Peel.
5. Place the pumpkin slices in a colander and drain well.
6. Mash either in a food mill or in the processor using pulses.
7. Mash the garlic and mix with the lemon juice. Add the tahini and stir to mix well.
8. Add the tahini mixture to the pumpkin. Pulse to mix and taste to adjust the seasoning.
9. Place in a serving dish, sprinkle either with ground cumin or chopped parsley.
10. Serve with pita triangles, fresh or toasted.

NOTE: This dish will be enhanced if prepared in advance and the flavors allowed to meld for a few hours.