KIBBEH BIL SAYNIYEH RECIPE

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! 

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:

2 ½ pounds of ground beef 
3 cups of bulgar (Soaked in cold water for 15 minutes in separate bowl)
Salt
Pepper
1 cup of diced onion
8 ounces of diced ground beef (in addition to the 2 and 1/2 pounds- this is for the hashweh-filling)
3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons of minced onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil

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!