Kibbeh Nayyeh (Raw Lamb and Bulgur Kibbeh)

La storia di questo piatto

Kibbeh nayyeh is the Levant at its most unguarded: raw lamb and fine bulgur, kneaded with onion, mint and warm spices, a dish of weddings, Sundays and long tables across Lebanon and Syria. It asks for trust in the hands that made it, and gives back the memory of a family gathered close.

Ingredienti

• 400 g Fresh ground lamb
• 120 g Fine bulgur
• 1 medium White onion
• 30 g Fresh mint
• 20 g Fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Sea salt
• 1 teaspoon Baharat (7-spice blend)
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground allspice (pimento)
• 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons Cold water
• 60 g Red onion
• 2 pieces Fresh spring onion
• 10 g Fresh mint leaves for garnish
• 4 pieces Pita bread

Preparazione

1. Put the fine bulgur in a bowl and add 5 tablespoons (about 75 ml) of very cold water. Mix for 30 seconds and let rest for 10-15 minutes: the bulgur must absorb all the water and become soft and swollen. It is ready when no free water remains at the bottom and, pressed between your fingers, it feels moist like a wrung-out sponge. If water remains, squeeze it in a clean cloth.
2. While the bulgur rests, put the large bowl in the freezer. Grate the white onion on the fine grater until you obtain an almost creamy pulp, squeeze it lightly to remove excess liquid and keep it on a small plate. Finely chop the mint and parsley with small, quick movements. Slice the spring onion into thin rounds and thinly slice the red onion for garnish; keep everything refrigerated.
3. Safety warning: kibbeh nayyeh is prepared with very fresh meat, bought from a trusted butcher and ground at the moment (or ground in front of you), always kept refrigerated until use. Not recommended for pregnant women, young children, the elderly and immunocompromised people. Pass the lamb through the meat grinder twice (or pound it in a mortar) together with the salt, until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous paste. Transfer it to the cold bowl and add the grated and squeezed onion, the hydrated bulgur, the chopped herbs, the black pepper, the baharat, the cinnamon and the allspice.
4. Wash your hands with cold water and dry them. Knead with your palms for 3-4 minutes: fold the mixture toward the center, turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat, wetting your hands with a drop of ice water if it sticks, until you obtain a smooth dough of uniform color. Add 1 tablespoon (about 15 ml) of extra virgin olive oil and work it for a moment longer: the remaining 45 ml will be used for garnish. It is ready when, pressed with your fist, it stays compact without crumbling. Do not add the lemon to the dough: it is squeezed only at the time of serving, so as not to alter the texture of the raw meat.
5. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (about 70-75 g each, depending on the water retained by the bulgur). Wet your hands with cold water and shape each portion into an elongated oval, or a disc or small smooth pyramid, pressing gently between your palms. You should obtain 8 smooth, regular shapes that hold together without crumbling.
6. Arrange the kibbeh on cold plates (you can keep them in the refrigerator for 5 minutes beforehand). With your index finger, make a depression about 1 cm deep in the center of each. Pour a thin stream of extra virgin olive oil into each depression, using the remaining 45 ml. Garnish with the very thinly sliced red onion, the spring onion rounds and a few fresh mint leaves.
7. Serve immediately, well chilled, with lemon (2 tablespoons of juice or wedges on the side) to squeeze over the kibbeh only at the last moment. Accompany with warm pita bread: everyone opens the bread with their hands, takes the kibbeh with their fingers and eats it together with the bread, in an informal and convivial way.