Kibbe stuffed with cheese

The most common form of kibbe is the torpedo shaped balls with an outer layer of ground meat and bulgur and an inner filling of minced meat and pine nuts. This is probably how you may have encountered kibbe in a restaurant. However, kibbe can be tweaked with different stuffing. In Tripoli, on Lebanon’s coast, ground fish and bulgur make up the outer shell, and a mixture of caramelized onions and pine nuts make up the stuffing. The filling varies, and you can use many ingredients, some fill the kibbe with spinach, chickpeas and onions. Others fill them with labneh and onions. This time I decided to go for the cheese filling, I thought the melting cheese in those little meatballs would turn out great… and it actually did!!

Ingredients:

For the kibbe: 
1 to 1½ lb (500 to 700g) ground beef 
2 cups bulgur (cracked wheat) 
1 onion 
1 tsp salt 
1 tsp cumin 
1/4 tsp pepper 
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Wash burghul under running water then soak in water for about 10 minutes. Drain then press to remove moisture as much as possible.

Mash onion in the food processor then add minced meat in batches. Remove and place aside.
Mix meat mixture with burghul, salt, spices. Process well in batches into a firm paste.
Knead mixture with wet hands into a smooth paste. Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes covered with a piece of wet texture.

For the filling:  
Cheese (I used Gruyère, cut into small cubes) but you can substitute it with any other cheese

Divide paste into egg sized balls. Dip your hands in cold water then roll each ball between the palms of your hands until smooth. Make a hole in the middle with your forefinger. Work finger round in the hole until you have a shell of even thickness. Fill hole with cheese and close opening.

Moisten with cold water to seal well and to shape with two pointed sides. If any breaks appear in shell, close with wet fingers. Place balls on a tray. Heat oil in a pan then fry till brown evenly and cooked.

Kebbés farcis au fromage

Ingrédients:

Pour le kebbé: 
500 à 700 g de viande de mouton 
2 tasses de boulghour
1 oignon
sel
1 càc de cumin en poudre
1/4 càc de poivre
1/4 càc de cannelle en poudre

Rincez le boulghour, trempez-le dans de l'eau environ 30 mn, pressez-le à la main pour se débarrasser de son eau. Hachez l'oignon au robot, ajoutez la viande. Mixez et réservez.

Mélangez au robot la viande et l'oignon avec le boulghour, le sel, le poivre, le cumin et la cannelle afin d'obtenir une pâte homogène. Malaxez bien et conservez au frigo pendant une demie heure et couvrez d'un torchon humide.

Pour la farce: Du fromage coupé en cubes (J'ai utilisé du Gruyère) mais vous pouvez choisir un fromage de votre choix.

Prendre le kebbé, en faire à l'aide du doigt de petites boulettes ovales creuses aux parois minces, les farcir et en colmatez l'orifice.

Chauffer de l'huile végétale à feu doux et les faire rissoler.