Baked Kibbeh (Kibbeh bil Sanieh)

Method

1. Rinse the bulgur once in a fine sieve, tip it into a bowl and cover with cold water by 1 cm. Soak for 10 min, then drain and squeeze it hard by the handful to remove as much water as possible. Keep the crust meat in the fridge meanwhile; cold meat makes a smoother dough.

   Add in this stepFine bulgur (#1) 100 g

2. Make the filling first. Heat the olive oil in a 20 cm frying pan over medium heat, add the pine nuts and stir constantly for 2 min until light golden, then tip them straight onto a plate. Pine nuts burn in seconds, so don't walk away. Leave the oil in the pan.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 1¼ tbspPine nuts 20 g

   medium heat

3. Add the finely chopped filling onion to the same pan and cook over medium heat for 5 min until soft and translucent. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat, add the filling meat and break it up with a spatula, cooking for 5 min until no pink remains and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the allspice, cinnamon, pepper, half the baharat and part of the salt, return the pine nuts, then spread on a wide plate to cool.

   Add in this stepOnion (for the filling) ½Minced beef or lamb (for the filling) 100 gGround allspice ½ tspGround cinnamon 1 pinchBlack pepper 1 pinchBaharat (Lebanese seven-spice) ½ tspSalt 0.4 tsp

   medium heat→medium-high heat

4. Grate the crust onion finely and squeeze out the juice. In a large bowl, combine the squeezed bulgur, the cold crust meat, the grated onion, cumin and the rest of the baharat and salt. Knead for 4 min, wetting your hands with iced water and adding it a spoonful at a time, until you have a smooth, sticky paste. It is ready when a small ball pressed flat does not crack at the edges. A food processor pulsed in short bursts works too.

   Add in this stepOnion (for the crust) ½Lean minced beef or lamb, well chilled (for the crust) 150 gGround cumin ½ tspBaharat (Lebanese seven-spice) ½ tspSalt 0.6 tspIced water 2 tbsp

5. Heat the oven to 200 °C. Brush a 20×15 cm baking dish with a little olive oil. Divide the crust in half and, with wet hands, press one half evenly over the bottom, about 1 cm thick. Spread the cooled filling over it and press lightly. Flatten the remaining crust into thin patties between your palms, lay them over the filling like a patchwork and smooth the seams with wet fingers.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 0.6 tbsp

6. With a knife dipped in water, score the top into diamonds, cutting down to the filling, and run the knife around the edge. Poking a small hole in the centre with your finger is the Lebanese way. Drizzle over the rest of the olive oil, dot with butter and bake (oven, 200 °C) for 28 min, until deep golden brown and the edges pull away from the dish.

   Add in this stepOlive oil 1¼ tbspButter 10 g

   oven

7. Let it rest for 5 min, then cut along the scored lines and serve with plain yogurt. A cucumber or tomato salad on the side makes it a true Lebanese table.

   Add in this stepPlain yogurt, to serve 160 g