How to Make Fish Vegetarian Kibbeh: a Promise of Delight!

Fish Kibbeh is a delight of vegetarian meal that has the bonus of being fulfilling yet light. It ensued as a healthier and lighter version of the original meat Kibbeh our cuisine is well-known for. I believe that an overview on Kibbeh is in order here.

Ingredients

Servings:  8 portions

500 gr Fish Filet

FOR THE STUFFING
2 Kg Potatoes
1 medium Onion
1/2 bouquet Fresh Cilantro
4 cloves small Garlic
2 tbsps Croutons
4 tbsps Lemon Juice
2 tbsps Walnuts
1 tsp Salt
Vegetable Oil
White Pepper
Black Pepper

TO GARNISH
1 medium Tomato
Lettuce Hearts

Steps

1 PREPARING THE CILANTRO MIXTURE

1- In a pan, over medium-high heat, pour the 2 tbsp of oil and mix in the chopped cilantro and mashed garlic.
2- Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the cilantro wilted.
3- Put aside.

2 PREPARING THE FISH

1- Preheat oven to 250°C ( approx. 482°F).
2- Season both sides of the fish pieces with some salt and white pepper.
3- Place them in a non-stick oiled pan in the oven.
4- Bake for 20 minutes.
5- Flip them gently, and bake for another 10 minutes.

3 MAKING THE FISH MIXTURE

1- Preheated oil and fry the sliced onions until golden.
2- Meanwhile, mix the cilantro mixture with lemon juice and walnuts.
3- Season with salt, white pepper and black pepper.
4- Part the fish in smaller pieces and add them and the mixture on the frying onions.
5- Mix very well, and cook on low heat for 5 minutes while stirring.
6- Put aside to cool.

4 THE KIBBEH: HERE WE GO!

1- Preheat your oven to 250C to ready it for the next phase.
2- Divide the smashed potatoes in 2 parts.
3- Lay one part in a non-stick, oiled baking pan, covering all the surface.
4- Spread over the fish stuffing.
5- Lay the 2nd part of the potatoes on top. (See below for the easier way to do this part).
6- Add a layer of smashed croutons all over the surface.

5 NOTE: HOW TO BEST WORK THE 2ND POTATO'S LAYER.

1- Divide the 2nd part of the smashed potatoes in various balls.
3- Flatten each between your palms, and place them side by the side on top of the fish stuffing until all is covered.
4- Damp your hands and gently dub it all to close the gaps then to spread the layer as equally as possible.

6 BAKING & SERVING

1- Place the pan of Kibbeh in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
2- Switch the heat to the upper top and bake for 5 more minutes to golden the surface.
3- Serve the Kibbeh from the oven to the table and cut when serving on the plates.

NOTE: You may also cut it in 8 equal rectangles and place them on a serving plate.

Serve hot or warm.

7 DECORATING THE PLATE (OPTIONAL)

PRESENTATION TIP:

1- While the Kibbeh is baking, I cut a medium-size tomato into a flower-shape, and prepare some lettuce hearts for the decoration.

2- When the Kibbeh pieces are placed on the serving plate, I gather some of the smallest lettuce hearts around the tomato, and place the set on the center between the pieces of Kibbeh.
I then add some lettuce hearts on both sides of the plate.

Lettuce hearts could be substituted with similar greenery of your choice. Be elegantly creative!

Kibbe Arnabiyye Recipe

Kibbe Arnabiyye is the Queen of kibbe recipes and this dish is usually made for just VIPs or loved ones.

Ingredients: for the kibbe:

1 and 1/2 cup fine brown bulgur
300 grams  beef meat
1 small onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seven spices

Preparation:

Wash the bulgur and drain it from water
Grate the onion until fine
Mix the meat with bulgur and grated onion, add the salt and spices
Place in a food processor a little at a time until all the quantity is used
Your kibbe is ready place it in the fridge until you prepare the stuffing

Ingredients for the Kibbe stuffing:

300 grams minced meat
2 onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seven spices
a handful of pine seeds (optional, but it enhances the flavor of the stuffing)
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation of the stuffing:

- In a saucepan heat the oil, fry the onion until golden brown
- Add the meat and fry with the onion for about 10 minutes, then add the pine seeds, season with salt, spices and the molasses
- Cook for about 10 minutes until the pine seeds turn golden

Stuffing the kibbe: Your going to need an additional ingredient, a tablespoon of corn flour

- Dissolve the corn flour in a cup of cold water
- Make a medium sized ball from the kibbe dough with you wet hand (dip it in water and cornflour), and using your index make a hole in the ball of kibbe, and with the other hand (wet also) turn it around your index until it thins out and the hole becomes wider
- Place 1 teaspoon of the stuffing inside and close it, turning the ball in your hand to form a nice shape

- Your kibbe is now ready to be used in the Arnabiyye

Ingredients for the Arnabiyye:

1/2 kilo kibbe balls
1 kilo tahini
1 kilo oranges
1/2 kilo mandarin
1/2 kilo Seville orange
1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 kilo onions cut into wings
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup pine nuts

Preparation:

- Fry the kibbe balls half way, for a few minutes only, then place them on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil and keep aside
- Fry or roast the pine nuts and also leave aside
- In a medium pan, heat the oil and fry the onions until slightly golden then cover with 3 cups of water and boil it for half an hour until they soften; puree them keeping the water with them
- Extract the juice of all 3 citrus fruits and keep in a pitcher

- In a large pot, place the tahini, the juice and the pureed onion and mix well
- Place the pot on a medium fire and stir constantly until it starts boiling and forms bubble on the top; when you can see the oil of the tahini coming on the surface you know the sauce is done
- Add salt, cinnamon and the pomegranate molasses and adjust the seasoning up to your taste
- Place the kibbe balls and boil on a very low heat for about 10 minutes
- Pour into deep plates and decorate with pine nuts. Enjoy it warm or cold. You could have it with cooked rice if you’d like.

Lebanese Raw Kibbe Recipe – Kibbeh Nayyeh

Kibbe Nayyeh stands for “raw Kibbe”, Kibbe being the patties made from ground meat, burghul (cracked weat) and spices.

Learn How to Make Raw Kibbe Nayyeh Like a Pro. This recipe is an Authentic and Traditional Version of the Lebanese Kibbe Nayyeh (spicy raw ground meat).

Raw Kibbeh (Nayyeh) Ingredients (4 servings)

1 lb of lean goat leg meat (no fat), frozen for 2 weeks prior
1/2 cup of fine Burghul (cracked wheat)
1 small white onion
1/3 green/bell pepper (optional, but preferred)
20 leaves green mint
10 leaves of green Marjoram (Mardakoush) (optional, but preferred)
1/2 teaspoon of 7-spices
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper
2/3 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
High quality olive oil

Optional sides of greens, including green onions, white onions, radish, mint, pickled chilli pepper etc…

Kibbeh Nayyeh Preparation Method

1. Freeze the meat for 2 weeks if possible, in order to age it and to help eliminating any typical raw meat contamination. When ready to prepare the dish, place the frozen meat in the fridge for 2-3 hours to thaw it half way.

2. When the meat is halfway thawed, place it in a food processor along with about 5 cubes of ice, 1/5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (no more) and spin it for about 3-5 minutes until it becomes very fine. Important: stop the food processor every 1 minute or so and feel the temperature of the meat and make sure it’s not warming up otherwise its color and taste would change. If you feel that it’s warming up, add a bit more ice or 1/4 cup of icy water and spin again.

3. Place the Burghul in a small bowl and rinse it with cold water, then squeeze it to get rid of as much water as possible. Place it aside.

4. Put the green pepper, mint, marjoram, onion, salt, cayenne pepper and 7-spices in the food processor and mix them well.

5. Place the ground meat in a large bowl, add the wet Burghul and the spice mix, and mix it well with your hands for a few minutes to make sure that all ingredients have well infused in one another. While mixing it, you can wet your hands every now and then in bowl of icy water that has a tiny bit of ground cinnamon in it.

Serving And Presenting the Kibbeh Nayyeh

1. Kibbe Nayyeh needs to be served cold, so you need to keep the dish in the fridge until serving time.

2. When ready, make the Kibbe mix into balls the size of a baseball and line them up along your serving dish.

3. Spread the kibbe on the dish with your hands or spoon, until it’s no more than 3/4 inch thick. Make some patterns on it if you wish.

4. Add tons of high quality olive oil on it.
Serve with optional sides including: mint, radish, green peppers, green chilli peppers, hot peppers, green onions, white onions etc.

5. Kibbe Nayyeh can be eaten with a fork or wrapped in pita bread.

6. We hope you enjoyed this recipe, and you now learned how to make Kibbe Nayyeh like a pro 🙂 We’d love to get your feedback and comments on it.

Preparation time: 1 hour(s) 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 40 minute(s)
Diet tags: Raw
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern
Copyright © Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen.

Kibbeh Bil-Saniyeh / Baked Kibbeh Recipe

Kibbeh is one of Lebanon's great national dishes and until the arrival of the food processor, the meat was pounded by hand in a marble or stone mortar (jorn) with a wooden pestlem(m'daqqa). Because of the time and effort involved in its preparation, kibbeh was - and still is - a festive dish. It is a highly seasoned mixture of finely minced lamb, burghul and very finely chopped onion. When it is served raw, kibbeh is made with less burghul and a handful of crushed basil or mint leaves are added to give the meat a fresh, fragrant flavor. A little liyeh (fat from the sheep's tail) is also added to make it more velvety.

Ingredients

90g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease baking dish
60g pine nuts
500g large onions, finely chopped
200g lean minced
4 ½ tsp Adonis Kibbeh Spices
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
500g lamb from the leg, boned, skinned, defatted and finely minced 200g fine burghul
4 ½ tsp Adonis Kibbeh Spices
Unsalted butter

Cooking instructions

Melt the butter in a deep frying pan over a medium heat. Saute the pine nuts, stirring constantly until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a double layer of kitchen paper. Saute the chopped onion in the same butter until soft and transparent. Add the minced meat and cook until it loses all traces of pink. Keep mashing and stirring the meat with the back of a wooden spoon or fork so that it separates well and does not form lumps. Remove from the heat. Season with the Adonis Kibbeh Spices and salt to taste. Add the pine nuts. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

Put the quartered onion in a food processor and until very finely chopped. Add the minced meat, Adonis Kibbeh Spices and salt to taste and process together until smooth. Prepare a bowl of lightly salted water and have it on hand.

Wash the burghul in two or three changes of cold water. Drain well and add to the meat. Mix with your hand; dipping it every now and then in the salted water to moisten both your hand and the kibbeh. Knead until the mixture is well blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Grease a deep baking dish about 30x20x5 cm with a little butter. Preheat the oven to 180° C.

Divide the kibbeh in two equal parts. Moisten your hands in the salted water and pinch off a handful of kibbeh from one piece. Flatten it between your palms to a thickness of about 1 cm and place on the bottom of the baking dish, starting from one edge. Smooth it evenly with your fingers. Pinch off another handful from the same piece of kibbe. Flatten and lay next to the first piece, slightly overlapping it. Dip your fingers in water and smooth the pieces together until the joint disappears. Be sure to connect the kibbeh pieces well so that they do not come apart during cooking. Continue the above process until you have covered the bottom of the pan. Go over the whole layer with moistened fingers to even it out.

Spread the stuffing evenly over the kibbeh and make a top layer, using the other half of the kibbeh and laying it over the stuffing in the same way as with the bottom layer. You may find the top layer slightly more difficult to do as you will be laying it over the loose stuffing instead of the smooth surface of the baking dish. Do not worry. You will soon get the hang of it.

Cut the pie into quarters, then with a knife make shallow incisions to draw a geometric pattern across the top of each quarter. The decoration work is time consuming and can be omitted without affecting the taste, although the presentation will be less attractive and less traditional. Press your index finger in the middle to make a hole. Place a knob of butter over the hole and one knob of butter over each of the quarters. Insert a round-pointed knife between the edge of the kibbeh and the side of the pan and slide it all alongside the edge to detach the kibbeh from the sides of the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pie has shrunk and the meat is just done. Serve hot or warm with a yoghurt and cucumber salad.