Kibbie Seniyeh Pan Baked Kibbee Food

BAKED KEBBEH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the dough: put the bulgur in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for 30 minutes then drain well, squeezing the bulgur with your hands to remove excess water.
• Mix the bulgur, lean ground beef, onion, cinnamon, cumin, marjoram and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a food processor and process to combine. Add the ice water and process until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. If necessary, add a little extra ice water to help the dough come together.
• For the filling: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the ground beef, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and cook, breaking up into small pieces and stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in the middle, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Spread a little more than half the dough in the bottom and up the sides, dipping your hands ice water as needed to prevent sticking.
• Add the meat filling and sprinkle with the crushed walnuts. Cover the filling with the remaining dough by flattening several balls of dough and placing them over the filling like patchwork. With wet hands, pat and smooth the dough pieces into one mass to completely cover the filling.
• With one finger, make a hole in the center of the kebbeh all the way to the bottom of the pan. Score the dough into 8 portions with a chef's knife. Fill the hole with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and gently turn and roll the pan to oil the top. Press a walnut half into each portion to garnish. Bake until the dough is completely cooked through and the top of the kebbeh is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce: stir the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, mint and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the top of the sauce with the pomegranates, drizzle with some olive oil and garnish with a mint sprig.
• Remove the sides of the tart pan and slide the kebbeh onto to a serving platter, removing the tart pan bottom. Slice the kebbeh and serve with the yogurt sauce.

KIBBEE SINEEA (BAKED SPICED KIBBEE)

Steps:

• Soak wheat for one hour.
• Squeeze to drain.
• Brown pine nuts and onions lightly over med-low heat.
• Remove from heat.
• Combine meat, wheat, and seasonings.
• Mix and knead for approx 10 minutes (Kitchen Aid is handy for this!) Divide in half.
• Form one layer in an 8x8 buttered baking dish.
• Top with onion and pine nut mixture, spreading evenly over meat.
• Lay on top layer of meat, pressing down (this is important), and smoothing.
• Run a spatula along the outer ridge, forming a ridge for the absorption of butter.
• Dip the spatula in cold water and start make cuts the length of the pan.
• Then go back across "crosswise" forming diamond shaped pieces.
• Glaze top with 3 tbsp melted butter.
• Bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes or until browned.
• Serve with sour cream, if desired.

BAKED KIBBEE (SYRIAN MEATLOAF)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400º F.
• For Mixture One: Pour boiling water over bulgar wheat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain any excess water.
• Working in batches, use a food processor to grind the 2 lbs. of lamb into a fine paste.
• In a large bowl, combine the wheat, lamb, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. (If mixing by hand, dip your hands in ice water to keep the meat mixture from sticking to them.).
• For Mixture Two: Heat clarified butter over medium-high heat. Add meat, onion, pine nuts, and seasoning and saute until meat is cooked through.
• Butter a 9"x13" baking pan. Spread half of Mixture One in the bottom. Spread Mixture Two over it, and press the rest of Mixture One on top. Wet your hands with ice water to keep it from sticking while you smooth out the top.
• Cut the kibbee into small diamonds or rectangles.
• Bake until meat is cooked through, around 30-45 minutes.

KIBBEE BIL SINEEYAH (BAKED KIBBEE)

Steps:

• Since your grinder is already dirty from making the raw kibbee, you might as well grind your own meat for the stuffing, but don't grind it too fine; use the medium plate, or even the coarse one, and once through is enough.
• Brown crumbled meat in 1 Tbsp butter, stirring occasionally.
• Add onion, and saute until it is translucent.
• Brown the pine nuts in 1 Tbsp of butter until very browned, but not quite burnt.
• Add pine nuts and ketchup to meat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Brush some melted butter on sides and bottom of a 9"x13"x2" baking pan.
• Spread half of the kibbee evenly over the bottom of the pan.
• Spread stuffing evenly over kibbee, and spread second half of kibbee over this.
• Dip hand in water and smooth out top layer.
• Before baking, cut into diamond shapes.
• Spread melted butter over top of kibbee, and sprinkle with water.
• Bake at 425oF for 35 minutes or until top is browned.
• Separate into diamond pieces, and serve hot, at room temperature, or cold, as part of a meza appetizer assortment.

LEBANESE KIBBEH IN A TRAY

Steps:

• Select lamb from loin of the animal.
• Pound the cubed meat with a teaspoon of salt in a stone mortar with a wooden mallet.
• Remove meat from mortar when it becomes pasty.
• Now pound onion with a teaspoon of salt and the pepper until it is reduced to a pulp.
• Combine meat and onion and pound together until very smooth.
• Wash bulghur well in running water but do this quickly so that it does not soften.
• Press to remove water.
• Knead bulghur and meat with the hands.
• Pound together in mortar.
• Add salt to taste.
• Dip mallet in ice water occasionally to keep meat moist and smooth.
• Properly prepared kibbeh must be pounded at least an hour.
• Then it is ready to be eaten as it is, or cooked in a variety of ways.
• Preparation time may be shortened considerably by grinding meat several times through fine blade of meat grinder.
• Grind onion twice.
• Grind onions with meat once.
• Combine washed bulghur with meat-onion mixture.
• Knead well, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Grind this mixture three times adding a tablespoon of ice water to keep it smooth.
• To make stuffing: Heat fat.
• Fry chopped onions in it until soft.
• Add meat and fry until lightly browned.
• Add pine nuts and continue frying until they are slightly browned and the meat has lost its pink color entirely.
• Season with salt, pepper and cinnamon.
• Pour off excess fat.
• To make Kibbeh in a Tray: Grease a shallow 12 x 18 inch baking pan.
• Pat a layer of basic kibbeh smoothly and firmly over the bottom of the pan to the depth of one inch.
• Cover this evenly with with a layer of stuffing.
• Top with a second layer of kibbeh slightly thicker than the first.
• Score into diamond shapes with a sharp knife.
• Pour one cup melted samneh or butter over all.
• Bake in moderate oven about 20 minutes, or until well browned.
• Serve hot or cold.