Recipes I've tried and loved

I am starting to discover that I have a love for baking, so as I try out new recipes I will post for all to see.



So I have discovered a new recipe that I am pretty proud of. It's wayyyy out of my cooking comfort zone and probably the most ethnic thing that I have made. I discovered kibbeh when I was living in Brazil in 2007. There is a really popular fast food chain that makes Arabic food (Brazilian-ized) and one of the things I loved was kibbeh. You eat it with salt and lots of lime..... really good!

It consists of bulgur wheat and ground beef and lots of great middle eastern spices. I have never worked with bulgur wheat so this was a first for me and it gave me a chance to finally pull out the deep fryer that we purchased months ago and only used once so far. The picture of these makes them look kind of weird but I recommend you try these, they are excellent.

Stuffed Kibbeh


1 1/3 cups bulgur wheat 
2 red chilies, seeded and roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped 
1 lb lean minced beef or lamb
oil for deep frying
salt and freshly ground black pepper 
avocado slices and coriander sprigs to serve


FOR THE STUFFING:
1 onion  finely chopped 
6 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil 
2 tsp ground allspice or medditeranean seasoning 
1 tsp cumin 
1tsp paprika 
4 tbsp fresh chopped coriander or parsley 


soak the bulgur wheat in cold water for 15 mins. Drain well  then process in a blender or food processor with the chilies, onion half the meat and plenty of the seasoning 


to make the stuffing, fry the onion and pine nuts in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the allspice and remaining minced meat and fry gently stirring, until browned 
add the coriander and a little seasoning 


turn the bulgur wheat mixture out onto a work surface and shape into a cake. cut into 12 equal wedges.


flatten one piece into hand and spoon a little stuffing into the centre. 
Bring the edges up to enclose it. form into an egg shape ensuring that the filling is encased. Make the others in the same way.


place 3-5 in the deep frier for about 5 mins, maybe a little less until golden. Drain and keep hot while cooking the remainder.


Serve with rice and avocados. Eat with knife and fork. Sprinkle a little salt to taste and drizzle the juice of a lime wedge over each bite.


ENJOY!