Kibbeh

Kibbeh are a crunchy deep fried stuffed meatball of sorts, popular in middle eastern cuisine. They are traditionally stuffed with ground beef or lamb which is wrapped in a layer of bulgur. This recipe however uses the super grain quinoa! These go well with a garlicky lemony yogurt sauce.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 lb ground beef or lamb
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced,
1 tbsp arabic 7 spice mix
OR a mix of cinnamon powder, nutmeg, clove powder, black pepper, paprika, cardamom powder, cumin and coriander
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp crushed dried mint leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Heat enough oil to deep fry in.
Place quinoa, about 1/4 of the ground meat, 1/4 of the onion and a little salt in the food processor and blend until it forms a sticky looking dough.

In a skillet, heat a tbsp of oil and add 1/2 the chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the meat, spices and herbs and cook until fully cooked and most of the moisture has evaporated. Add pine nuts at the end. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

Take a tennis ball sized amount of the quinoa mixture and flatten in your palm to form a patty about 1/4 inch thick. Place a tbsp of meat mixture in the middle and carefully close up the quinoa around the meat, shaping gently between your palms to form a ball or football shape. Wet one hand slightly and shape one last time to seal cracks. Repeat until all mixture has been used. Gently fry for about 5-7 minutes until brown.

Shaped, raw kibbeh can also be frozen and fried later! Just shape and freeze on a cookie sheet, then store them in a ziplock  bag or container.