pumpkin Kibbeh Recipe

The Recipe Hunters in Lebanon

Kibbeh is basically the mix of "something" with bulgur (cracked wheat), that 'something' is typically minced meat and spices. The kibbeh in the picture is called kibbet la'teen, which translates to pumpkin kibbeh. This version is made of a vegetarian base of pumpkin, bulgur, and a bit of flour which is formed into hollow, egg-shaped balls. The balls are then stuffed. We provided various Lebanese stuffings. The first is a mixture of preserved meat (qawarma) and labneh (strained yogurt). The second is a vegetarian stuffing recipe. Vegetarian kibbeh is traditionally eaten in Lebanon during the period of Lent. You can deep fry the kibbeh balls and they will turn out crispy or you can boil them in a broth of kishk, garlic, and water and they will come out soft. The taste of the pumpkin is sweet and the kishk gives it a hint of pungent tanginess.

recipe

ingredients

Prep time: 1.5 hrs

2 Recipe Variations of Stuffing:

Dice the onion and add it to a medium mixing bowl with .5 kgs of labneh, 2 spoonfuls of Meat: qawarma, a pinch of salt, and mix.

Vegan: Soak 1 cup of dried chickpeas in water overnight. Boil the chickpeas in salted water (3 tsp of salt to 5 cups of water) until soft. Parboil spinach. Drain and rinse with cold water, then thoroughly squeeze out excess water. Sautee onions in olive oil, add two pinches of salt and one pinch of sumac. Once the onions are translucent add the par-boiled spinach and the chickpeas. Cook until most of the liquid has left the mix.

Making the Kibbeh Dough

Peel a pumpkin, remove the seeds, cut the pumpkin into cubes, then add to a large pot and pour in water so that it is 3/4th covered up in water. Cook on high
Once the pumpkin can be pierced with a knife easily, strain the pumpkin over a large mixing bowl. The water from the pumpkins will be used later in step 6.
While the pumpkin is still hot, mash the pumpkin down in a large bowl using a potato masher. Made with Love Tip: you must do it while hot so that the bulgur absorbs the pumpkin.
Add 3.5 cups of bulgur to the mashed pumpkin and mix evenly throughout with your hands. Made with Love Tip: Do not wash the bulgur before you add it to the pumpkin, because you want the bulgur to absorb the liquid from the pumpkin.
Sift 5 heaping tablespoons of whole wheat flour into the pumpkin mix and add 2 pinches of salt, 2 pinches of black pepper, and 1 pinch of freshly ground nutmeg. Mix it with your hands.
At this point, you can start kneading the mix to ensure that the ingredients are homogenous throughout. Add 2 Tbsps of the pumpkin water from step 2 back into the mix while kneading to loosen the consistency. Once the consistency of the kibbeh is softer and malleable, let it cool and rest for about 20 minutes. Made with Love Tip: Check on the kibbeh dough every once in a while and mix around to see how the bulgur is absorbing the pumpkin. Look at the pictures to get a good idea of the consistency. Add in additional pumpkin water if necessary. You don't want to add too much pumpkin water but you also don't want the kibbeh to be too dry and grainy. If the kibbeh dough is too wet, add more flour.

Kibbeh Dough

1 pumpkin (approx. 3 kg or 6.5 lbs)
3.5 cups of fine bulgur
5 Tbsp of whole wheat
Black pepper
Salt
Pinch of nutmeg

Broth

1 shot of vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
2.5 Tbsp rice
4 Tbsp Kishk

Meat Stuffing:

1 .5 cup Labneh
.5 cup Qawarma (preserved meat)

Vegan Stuffing:

2 bunches Spinach
2 medium Onions
Chickpeas
Olive oil
salt
Pinch of sumac (optional)

equipment needed

Large Pot for boiling pumpkin & making the broth
Straining bowl
2 large mixing bowls
1 medium mixing bowl
potato masher

Forming the Kibbeh:

Keep the bowl of pumpkin water to your side. Dab one of your hands in the water and rub your hands together so that your hands become slightly wet. Take an egg-sized ball of kibbeh and form it into a smooth oval egg shape by rolling it around in your hands. Once, you have the oval shape you can form the shell of the kibbeh. Cupping the oval of kibbeh in the left hand, dab the pointer finger of your right hand in the pumpkin water. Now press your right pointer finger into one of the ends of the kibbeh egg and gently rotate the kibbeh around the pointer finger, using your left hand to hold the shape of the oval. Every time you rotate the kibbeh, squeeze the kibbeh slightly in your cupped hand so that the shell of the kibbeh eventually becomes a thin smooth layer. (if you're a lefty, reverse hands)

Made with Love Tip: Whenever I make kibbeh I think of a heart beating in my cupped hand, this helps me form a rhythm. Do not be discouraged if it takes you several times before you achieve a smooth egg-shaped kibbeh. Back in the day, a young woman took pride in making the thinnest, smoothest kibbeh.

Stuffing the Kibbeh:

Once you have formed the hollow egg-shaped shell, take a scoop of stuffing and gently place it into the kibbeh. Dab your hands in the pumpkin water and gently close the kibbeh by twisting it together into a little nib, like the top of a Hershey kiss. You can dab your fingers in the pumpkin water and smooth the kibbeh out around the edges.

Cooking the Kibbeh in a broth (or deep-fry in vegetable oil)

In a large pot, add a shot of vegetable oil with 3 chopped garlic cloves and cook over medium-low heat.
Stir occasionally so the garlic doesn't burn. Once you smell the garlic, wash 2.5 Tbsp of rice with water, rinse a few times and add to the pot with garlic (you add rice because rice absorbs the acidity of the kishk)
Add 8 cups of water to the pot.
Add 4 tablespoons of kishk to the water, mix it in, cover, and cook on medium heat.
Once the mix boils, add as many kibbeh that will fit in the pot. After 5 minutes, stir them around.
Once you can knock on the kibbeh and you can hear them echo from their hardness, they are ready to remove (approx. 10 min.). Remove them to a plate with a straining spoon and add more kibbeh to the boiling water.
Serve with the kishk soup in a bowl and enjoy!

Made with Love Tip: If you decide to deep-fry the kibbeh, use vegetable oil and serve hot. In this case, the kibbeh does not need a broth and can be eaten by itself.