Baked Kibbe Recipe

Wonderful baked Kibbe recipe. Kibbe is an appetizer dish (mezzi) famous in Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian restaurants.

Ingredients:

Filling 1

• 2 lbs round steak (or lamb), trimmed of fat and ground twice
• 1 cup bulgar wheat, medium grind
• 1/2 onion, grated
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash cinnamon
  

Soak the bulgar wheat in water for 1/2 hour, drain well and add the meat. Mix very well. .

Filling 2

• 3/4 cup ground round
• 1/2 cup grated onions
• 1/2 cup pignola nuts
• dash cinnamon or allspice
  

Preparation:

• In a frying pan, saute the beef with the onions. Salt and pepper to taste; add a dash of either cinnamon or allspice.
• In a separate frying pan, saute the pignola nuts is a small amount of oil (corn or canola). When finished, combine the pignola nuts with the beef/onion and mix well.
• Now, take a baking pan and make three layers of the above fillings. Make the bottom layer 1/4" to 1/2" thick using Filling #1. Then make a middle layer 1/4"-1/2" thick using Filling #2. Finally make a top layer 1/4" - 1/2" thick using Filling #1.
• Cut into 1" x 1" squares while still in the pan. Brush the top of the kibbe with butter (optional). Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. If you choose , you can brown the top at higher heat during the last 10 minutes of baking.