| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings, about 10 kibbe |
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground round
- 1 medium green pepper, pureed in blender
- 1 medium onion, pureed in blender
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, browned
- Oil, for frying
- 1 cup Number 1 cracked wheat, rinsed in cold water
Instructions
- In large bowl combine all ingredients using only half of the green pepper and onion.
- Set aside the remainder of green pepper and onion mix for the stuffing.
- After thoroughly cooking the ground round on stovetop add all ingredients including the remaining green pepper and onion mix, cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
- Using the raw kibbe meat, make football shapes the size of your hands, once formed using your finger make a hole at the end of the football deep enough to add approximately a tablespoonful of stuffing into the football. Close the end after stuffing.
- Heat a pan of oil to 350 degrees F, fill pan with enough oil to completely cover the kibbe ball. Moisten hands and pat your kibbe ball making sure it is sealed on both ends.
- Deep-fry until a deep golden brown.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 517 |
| Total Fat | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Cholesterol | 54 mg |
| Sodium | 391 mg |
Reviews
This recipe is pretty pared down, compared to others I’ve seen. As others have noted here, I’m also more familiar with the baked kibbeh. Plus, there seems to be at least one proofreading error here: If you thoroughly cook the ground round, what is the “raw kibbeh meat,” and where does it com from? I don’t think I’ll be trying this one.
I attend a church that is historically Lebanese, although my parish is now majority Anglo. Our summer food festival features the baked kibbeh, albeit without the scoring, which I love. Like many foods with a strong national/ethnic identity, kibbeh has a variety of recipe traditions using a variety of spices. The people who make our kibbeh use only a few spices (I think they use cinnamon and cloves), but you can find recipes that use all kinds of spices in varying amounts — including cumin. Moreover, baked kibbeh is done in with a “filling” between top and bottom layers that are identical. I now use a Lebanese 7 Spice Blend (both filling and top/bottom layers) as well as a Kibbeh Spice blend (top/bottom only), both commercially available and both containing cumin.
Although I have not tried this particular, I, too, grew up on middle eastern food and do not recall cumin used in the recipe for kibbe. I also eat it baked with the scoring on top and the fried “footballs”. I like cumin and may be something to try
None of the reviews were of any help because they hadn’t TASTED the food from Crystal’s. I went there and ate and cannot say enough HURRAHS about the food. 4 of us went and tasted everybodies food and found out no one food was better than the other, because they were all FABULOUS. Worth the trip
I grew up eating Lebanese kibbe b’lahem. It was always made with lamb and “Syrian allspice” – which was actually a combination of spices, like a masala, but heavy on allspice and cinnamon. There was never any cumin. . I have also never had kibbe with red or green pepper in it, thought it always had onions. Layered kibbe had a scrambled hamburg, onion and pine-nut stuffing, seasoned with salt, pepper, and cinnamon, with layers of the kibbe mixture (onions, lamb, bulghur, allspice, salt and pepper on top and bottom. The top layer was rubbed with olive oil, cross-hatched with knife cuts down to the center, and baked.
There is a lot of cumin in Moroccan recipes, though I don’t know if they have kibbe. I love cumin, and I’m sure the kibbe tastes good, but it is not the Lebanese kibbe I know.
Wetting your hands over and over as you form the kibbee, makes it less greasy and works better.
My great grandmother was born and grew up in the middle east, first turkey then lebanan, she always used allspice, with all the middle easterners I grew up around have never seen anyone useing cumin.
Lebanese friends use Cumin in her Kibbe but I’m sure it would taste similar either way, would it not?
I agree with another, pine nuts as well, & more of them.
This is easier to make than it seems & very delicious. Kids love it too.
Be sure to grease your hands & use a small scooper for easiest forming of the Kibbe. Clear, disposable gloves work great too when you’re busy in the kitchen. I make these ahead of time, cover w/wrap & put in fridge until I’m ready to cook them.
I agree with another, pine nuts as well, & more of them.
This is easier to make than it seems & very delicious. Kids love it too.
Be sure to grease your hands & use a small scooper for easiest forming of the Kibbe. Clear, disposable gloves work great too when you’re busy in the kitchen. I make these ahead of time, cover w/wrap & put in fridge until I’m ready to cook them.
Armenian kibbe might have Coriander but the true original Lebanese version uses generous amounts of cumin, This is an authentic recipe.
My mother is Armenian and I have been brought up eating this. I never ever heard of cumin being put into
kibbe. I have always put in salt, pepper, and coriander.
I believe that is the correct seasoning for Kibbe.
Also, if you want it to be tastier put in a lot more pine
nuts—It makes a huge difference in the taste.
kibbe. I have always put in salt, pepper, and coriander.
I believe that is the correct seasoning for Kibbe.
Also, if you want it to be tastier put in a lot more pine
nuts—It makes a huge difference in the taste.
I am Syrian descent and I make quite a few Syrian dishes…Kibbee being one of them. The Kibbee at Crystal’s is very light, not overly seasoned and not at all greasy as you would think it would be deep fried. I don’t deep fry my kibbee but I going to try it now. The outside is crispy but the inside stays very soft. The taste of Cumin was very mild but it gave it a very appealing flavor. I never used it in my recipe but I find that it adds an extra dimension to the flavor. I certainly recommend this recipe!