Kibbeh, what an invention. Round, flat, stuffed with meat, chard, fish, vegetarian, raw… the list never ends. Kibbeh resists definition.
My favorites are the vegetarian versions, made almost exclusively during Holy Week, in the days before Easter. As if abstinence, too, had its own genius.
Food and memory are forever bound. A vertiginous pair shaping the palate, the way we read an ingredient, our sense of time, our place in the world. There is no more faithful archive.
As children, we would arrive at the village a few days early. My grandmother had already begun. Kibbeh stuffed with wild edible greens commonly called “slik / سليق” : wild sorrel, common mallow, chickweed, and much else the land offered. What city people have learned to approximate with spinach and cultivated sorrel.
There was always a soup to open the meal, its name shifting by region and families: Kibbet hileh كبة حيلة, zenkol زنكل, Kibbet raheb كبة راهب. In that etymology alone lies the inexhaustible depth of this cuisine. Its bond with place, with the ordinary, with what passes between people without ever being formally taught.
And then this one, quiet, easily forgotten. Too much choice, too much on the table. Kibbet hummus.
This week I made it again. Maghdouché for the herbal note and of course for the crunch.
Kibbet Hummus with Maghdouché
Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup fine burghul, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight, peeled and split
• 1 mashed medium sized potato (optional for a softer, more yielding texture).
• 1 medium onion, grated
• fresh mint, roughly chopped (½ bunch)
• 2 to 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1½ tsp seven-spice blend
• 1½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Maghdouché
• water, as needed
• neutral oil
Instructions
This recipe works by volume, use the same cup throughout.
Start with the chickpeas. I prefer whole dried ones, peeled by hand, more work, but worth it. Soak overnight, drain, then spread over half a kitchen towel and fold the other half on top. Roll a glass firmly over them to peel and split in one go.
Mix everything together, keeping the Maghdouché aside.
If the dough feels dry, add a little water.
Press evenly into a baking dish, oil generously, and score into diamonds with a knife as you would any kibbeh baked in a tray.
Bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes. When the edges begin to color, cut the bottom heat and switch to the grill for a few minutes until the surface is lightly golden.
Remove from the oven. Stir the Maghdouché into a little olive oil and spoon over each piece.