Open Kibbeh

Kibbeh is a middle eastern dish made of bulgur or rice and chopped meat. Usually it looks like a fried croquette and is stuffed with lamb or beef. This however is an open version from Yotam Ottolenghi. When I made it, my kitchen smelled incredible aromatic! You might have thought you were at an Arabian market (not that I have ever been to one, but that's how I imagine it would smell there). Cinnamon, allspice and coriander are used in this dish. The meat mixture is a little spicy because of the chile but also sweet due to the cinnamon and pine nuts.
I assembled the dish the night before and popped it in the oven on the day I wanted to serve it, which worked really well....

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• Open Kibbeh
• (Yotam Ottolenghi)
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• 125 g / 4.4 oz fine bulgur wheat
• 90ml / 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 350 g / 12.3 oz minced lamb (I used a mixture of beef and lamb)
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander
• 60 g / 2 oz pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons self-raising flour
• Salt and black pepper
• 50 g / 1.8 oz tahini paste
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sumac

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper. Put the bulgur in a bowl, add 200ml of tap water and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat four tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the garlic, onion and chilli on medium-high heat until soft, remove from the pan, return it to high heat and add the lamb. Cook for five minutes, stirring, until brown. Return the onion mix to the pan, along with the spices, coriander leaves, salt, pepper and most of the pine nuts and parsley (save some for the end). Cook for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Check the bulgur to see if all the water has been absorbed (strain if not). Add the flour, a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper and, with your hands, work into a pliable mixture that just holds together. Push firmly into the base of the tin so that it is compacted and level. Spread the lamb mix evenly on top and press down. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meat browns further and is very hot.

Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, 50ml of water and a pinch of salt – you're after a very thick, yet pourable sauce. Remove the kibbeh from the oven, spread the sauce on top, sprinkle with pine nuts and parsley, and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until the tahini is just set and the pine nuts are golden. Remove and leave to cool down. Before serving, sprinkle with the sumac and a drizzle of olive oil. Remove the sides of the tin and carefully cut the kibbeh into slices.