Middle Eastern Kibbeh

 

                    Lebanese-style meatballs are great for a relaxed family supper. They're made with lean ground lamb, bulgur, herbs and spices, then grilled on skewers and served in pita bread pouches with crisp salad.

Serves 4

• 180 ml bulgur
• 400 ml diluted salt-reduced or homemade vegetable stock, hot
• 400 gr lean ground lamb
• 1 red onion, grated
• 60 ml pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 60 ml chopped cilantro
• 1 ml ground allspice
• 2 ml ground cumin
• 2 ml ground cinnamon
• 2 ml chili powder
• 4 whole wheat pita breads
• 1 baby romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• ¼ English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 8 radishes, thinly sliced and tossed in 15 ml lemon juice
• 160 ml tzatziki, click here for recipe

1. Put the bulgur in a pot and pour over the hot stock ; cover and leave to stand or 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, soak eight bamboo skewers in cold water to prevent them from burning on the grill.
3. Remove the lid from the pan and cook the bulgur over low heat or 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until excess liquid has evaporated, but the mixture is still moist ; tip onto a tray, spread out and leave to cool.
4. Tip the cooled bulgur into a bowl ; add the lamb, onion, pine nuts, cilantro and dry spices and season to taste.
5. Thoroughly mix together with your hands ; if you prefer a smoother-textured kibbeh, transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend for a few seconds. (You ma need to do this in batches.)
6. Preheat the grill to medium.
7. Divide the lamb mixture ito 16 pieces and shape into oval-shaped balls (kibbeh) ; thread the kibbeh onto the soaked wooden skewers, putting two on each skewer.
8. Arrange, side by side, on a foil-lined grill tray and grill for 4-5 minutes on each side until well browned and cooked through ; remove and wrap loosely in the foil to keep warm.
9. Put the pita breads on the grill tray and grill for about 30 seconds on each side to warm them ; don't let them brown or cook for an longer, or they will be too brittle to split open.
10. Run a knife down one long edge of each pita and gently open out to make a pocket,
11. Half-fill the pita bread pockets with the shredded lettuce, carrot, cucumber and radishes ; slide the kibbeh off the sewers and divide among the pita pockets.
12. Add more salad to taste ; drizzle each one with a spoonful of tzatziki and serve immediately. (For a really low-fat dressing, combine 125 ml low-fat plain yogourt with 60 ml chopped fresh mint.)

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