On the heat. Medium

Ingredients

• — SHELL
• 500 g lean lamb mince, double-ground
• 350 g fine bulgur, soaked 20 min and squeezed
• 1 onion, blended to a paste
• 2 tsp allspice · 1 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp salt
• — FILLING
• 400 g regular lamb mince
• 2 onions, chopped · 80 g pine nuts
• 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses · salt
• Oil to deep-fry

Method

1. Filling first: fry the onions, add the mince and brown hard, then pine nuts, spices and molasses. Cool completely — warm filling melts the shell.
2. Shell: work the squeezed bulgur, lean mince, onion paste and spices together for five minutes until it is a smooth, cohesive dough. Add a splash of iced water if it cracks.
3. Wet your hands. Take a golf ball of shell, make a hollow with your finger, and work it into a thin-walled cup — the thinner the wall, the better the kibbeh.
4. Fill, seal, and shape into a torpedo with a point at each end.
5. Chill 30 minutes so they firm up.
6. Deep-fry at 175 °C for 5 minutes until dark and crisp. Drain on a rack. Yoghurt and lemon.

Cook's note. Baked kibbeh is far easier. Press half the shell into an oiled tray, spread the filling, top with the rest, score into diamonds, dot with butter and bake at 200 °C for 35 minutes. Same flavour, none of the shaping.

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