Tray-Baked Kibbeh
The lazier cousin of the fried football kibbeh. Bulgur and beef bound in the food processor with baharat and onion, pressed flat in a tin, scored into diamonds, scattered with pine nuts and baked until firm and burnished. The honest one-tray version of the Levantine staple.
Overview
Smooth bulgur softened in hot water, then drained dry. Onion blitzed with baharat, salt and a splash of water to a slurry. Beef mince added and pulsed; bulgur folded through last so its grains stay intact rather than dissolving into the paste. The mixture is pressed into an oiled tin, smoothed flat, then scored into 5 cm diamonds with a sharp knife. Each diamond gets a small handful of pine nuts pressed onto its surface, plus a brush of olive oil. The tin bakes hot until the surface darkens and the inside firms up. Cut along the score lines, lift the diamonds out, serve with tahini sauce and a chopped salad.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for the tin)
- 185 g smooth (fine) bulgur wheat
- 1 medium brown onion (peeled, quartered)
- 1 teaspoon baharat (Middle Eastern spice mix)
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- A generous grind of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 500 g lean beef mince (5% fat)
- 20 g pine nuts
To serve
- A small bowl of tahini sauce (tahini whisked with cold water, lemon juice and a small clove of garlic)
- A chopped tomato-cucumber-parsley salad
- Warm pita
Method
Stage 1 - Soften the bulgur
- Lightly oil a 30 x 20 cm square or rectangular baking tin (the shape matters less than the surface area - aim for a 1.5 cm thick finished layer).
- Tip the bulgur into a heatproof bowl and pour over enough just-boiled water to cover by 1 cm.
- Leave for 15 minutes to soften and absorb. Drain in a fine sieve and press the back of a spoon against the bulgur to squeeze out any extra moisture. You want it tender but not soggy.
Stage 2 - Build the mixture
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the quartered onion, baharat, salt, pepper and water. Blitz to a smooth, slightly wet paste - 30 seconds or so.
- Add the beef mince. Pulse 6-8 times until well combined and slightly tackier than the raw mince started.
- Tip in the drained bulgur. Pulse 4-5 short times, just until the bulgur is distributed and bound into the mixture. Stop while you can still see individual grains.
- Tip the contents into a wide bowl and knead by hand for 30 seconds to make sure everything is uniformly mixed. The mixture should hold together in a soft, slightly wet mass.
Stage 3 - Shape in the tin
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C / 400°F.
- Press the mixture into the oiled tin in an even layer. Use the back of a metal spoon (or a flat-bottomed glass) to flatten and smooth the surface - uniformly level is what gives the diamonds their clean lines.
- With a sharp knife, score the surface into 5 cm diamond shapes. Start by drawing two long diagonals corner-to-corner, then add parallel lines on either side. Cut about 5 mm deep - you don't need to cut through.
- Brush the surface generously with olive oil, getting into the score lines.
- Press 2-3 pine nuts onto the surface of each diamond.
Stage 4 - Bake
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the surface is deeply browned and the kibbeh feels firm when pressed in the centre.
- If the tops are colouring too fast, drop the oven 10°C for the last 10 minutes.
- Let the tray rest for 5 minutes before cutting - the kibbeh firms further as it cools.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Cut along the scored diamonds with a thin knife and lift them out with a palette knife.
- Arrange on a wide warm plate with the tahini sauce drizzled around (or pooled in a small bowl) and the chopped salad piled on the side.
Notes
- Smooth (fine) bulgur is essential - coarse bulgur gives a gritty bake. If only coarse is available, blitz it briefly in a clean spice grinder first.
- Baharat is the Middle Eastern warm-spice mix (paprika, black pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg). If you don't have it, mix 1 teaspoon allspice with ½ teaspoon black pepper and a pinch each of cinnamon and cumin.
- A traditional layered tray-kibbeh (kibbeh bil saneeyeh) layers a meat-and-onion filling between two layers of the bulgur mixture; the single-layer version here is the everyday weeknight version.
Serving
Two diamonds on a plate with tahini, salad and warm pita. As a starter with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over. On a wide mezze platter alongside hummus, baba ganoush and olives.
Storage
In a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The texture sets firmer overnight; reheat in a low (160°C) oven for 10 minutes to warm through, covered loosely with foil to keep the surface from drying.
Recipes mentioned here
Kibbeh
Fine bulgur soaks until soft. The shell mixture combines bulgur, raw minced lamb, finely-grated onion, salt and spices, then blitzes (or pounds) into a dense, smooth, almost claylike paste. The filling is a separate cooked mince of lamb, onion, pine nuts, allspice and cinnamon. Each kibbeh shell is shaped over a finger; filling stuffs in; the lot pinches closed into a pointed oval. Deep-fries for 5 minutes.
Kibbeh
Two preparations: the bulgur-and-mince shell paste and the spiced cooked filling. The shell is shaped around a portion of filling into a football shape, then deep-fried until the outside is golden and the inside is hot and savoury. Served warm with yogurt or tahini.
Kibbeh Bil Saneeyeh
Fine bulgur (#1 grade, the smallest) soaks for 20 minutes; squeezed dry. The kibbeh dough: bulgur, lean lamb mince, grated onion, baharat, allspice, salt and pepper, all blitzed in a food processor to a smooth slightly sticky paste. The filling: onion fries; lamb mince browns with baharat, allspice and cinnamon; pine nuts toast in. A 26 cm round tin (or rectangular dish) is greased; half the kibbeh paste presses into the base; filling spreads on top; remaining kibbeh paste pats over the top. The whole surface is scored into diamonds with a sharp knife, brushed with olive oil, and baked for 35-40 minutes.
More like this
Mathloutha
The Saudi gathering platter built for the night when one cut of meat isn't enough. Three proteins share the same pot: lamb shoulder and beef chunks go in first with a kabsa-spiced tomato base for ninety minutes of slow simmer until they're meltingly tender, then chicken pieces drop in for the last thirty-five minutes (their cook time is shorter, so they go in later). The strained meat broth, deeply spiced from everything that has braised in it, becomes the cooking liquid for basmati scented with saffron and dried lime. At the end you arrange all three meats on top of the rice in the same platter and bring the whole thing to the centre of the table. The kind of dish you make for a wedding lunch, an Eid gathering, or the night the extended family arrives unannounced.
Matoke
Beef is browned and simmered with onions, garlic, ginger, tomato and a touch of curry powder. Green, unripe plantains are peeled and added to the pot to steam-cook in the sauce until tender. A loose peanut paste is stirred through near the end for body and richness. The whole dish is one pot and built in stages.
Sfeeha Jordani
A yeasted bread dough rises for 1 hour. Topping: lamb mince mixed RAW with grated onion (squeezed dry), diced tomato, garlic, baharat, allspice, pomegranate molasses, lemon, parsley and a small spoon of olive oil, no pre-cooking. Toasted pine nuts fold in. Dough divides into 18 balls; each rolls into an 8 cm disc with a slight raised rim. A heaped tablespoon of topping spreads on each; pinched into a slight 4-corner star shape (the Jordanian visual signature, distinguishes from the Lebanese version which is flat-edged). Baked at 220°C 10-12 minutes until the dough is gold and the meat is glossy-set. Garnished with extra parsley and pomegranate seeds.
Go Bo Hoi an
Go Bo Hoi An is a piquant Vietnamese beef salad featuring thinly sliced seared beef tossed with crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and a bright tamarind-lime dressing. This dish has delicate undertones of lime and garlic which carry through the tamarind flavours perfectly. The combination of tender beef, crunchy vegetables, aromatic herbs, and crispy rice papers creates a textural and flavourful celebration of Vietnamese cuisine. Quick to make but requires advance preparation, ensure the salad, dressing, and toppings are made and ready to use before cooking the beef.