Non-Traditional Kebbeh Laktine- Pumpkin Kebbeh

It seems like all I talk about lately is Kebbeh. Kebbeh this, Kebbeh that… someone’s gonna “kebneh*” soon! But, one thing’s for sure, I’m never bored of Kebbeh.I recently gifted my friend Sacha a Middle-Eastern cookbook about a chef’s travels in Turkey called “Turquoise” by Greg and Lucy Malouf. The book is absolutely extraordinary; from the turquoise cover (my favorite color), to the beautiful photography and delicious recipes.

She quickly got busy, invited us for dinner and made the following recipe from the book. It was mind blowing, something dreams are made of: the slightly sweet, spicy and cripsy pumpkin-burghul mixture stuffed with the feta-walnut mixture, just melts in your mouth. Need I say more?

The book is exquisitly beautiful, and Sacha really loved it-she is not very familiar with Middle-Eastern cuisine. The recipe made me do the undoable; buy myself the same gift I gave another person! I couldn’t control myself, it was purgatory if I’ve ever experienced it. So, Yes! I quickly and secretively bought myself one, too.

The recipe in the book is called a Kofte, which in Lebanon is a meat & herb mixture molded onto a skewer. The ingredients had nothing to do with the traditional Lebanese Kofte/Kafta but more so of the Kebbeh. The traditional Lebanese pumpkin Kebbeh sometimes calls for chickpeas, spinach and pine nuts for the stuffing. Besides renaming the recipe Kebbeh; I substituted sage instead of parsley to the filling and I baked them rather than frying them.

* Kebneh or “Throw me” in arabic, has no relation/derivation to/from kebbeh.

P.S- Lebanon used to belong to the Ottoman Empire and you can see the influence of turkish cuisine in Lebanese cuisine

Print (no photos)

Spiced Pumpkin Kebbeh

Recipe adapted from Turquoise

Makes 24 kebbeh torpedoes

The Cast of Characters

550g of pumpkin puree
50ml olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon hot turkish pepper paste, or harissa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
250g fine bulgur, rinsed and well drained
generous pinch of salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
vegetable oil for light frying
For the Walnut-Feta Stuffing
50g walnuts
180g feta
16g fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly gorund black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.

The Nitty-Gritty

Prepare the pumpkin puree. Heat the olive oil in large heavy-based saucepan, then add the onion, cumin, pepper paste (Harissa), paprika and sweat on low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Then, add the pumkin puree and the burghul and mix well. Season with salt. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Then remove from the heat and let sit for about 10mn. Add the beaten eggs. Mix well and pop into the fridge for 1hr or so.

In the mean time, sautee the chopped sage till crispy about 1 minute. Pound the walnuts to a rough chop and mix with the feta, sage and olive oil.

Set aside till ready.

Remove the kebbeh mixture from the fridge. Take a small lump of the mixture and mould it in your hand to make a smooth ball.

Use your finger to make an indentation in the mixture and work it to hollow out the middle. Stuff it with a generous teaspoon of the stuffing, then pinch the edges together to seal.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C/4G

Generously baste the torpedoes or balls with olive oil. The original recipe calls for frying the kebbeh torpedoes. I baked them for about 35 minutes then I lightly sauteed them in oil for browning, about 1 minute on each side.

Et voila!

Alf Sahtein.

Love,

Bethx

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Mad About Chickpeas-Hummus B’ Lahme

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Posted in: chickpeas, hummus, hummus awarma, hummus b lahme, hummus b tahini, minced lamb, olive oil, tahini

39 Responses to “Mad About Chickpeas-Hummus B’ Lahme”

Chris Bourne

12. Jan, 2010

Well all i can say is the wind in this part of the world has increased tenfold!….but its worth it. Lovin’ this
Sarah, Maison Cupcake

12. Jan, 2010

I love proper hummus and I love minced lamb too so the combination of them together is a real winner in my book.
Kerrin @ MyKugelhopf

12. Jan, 2010

I am so with you B ! I absolutely love chick peas, and always find myself adding them to any dish when possible, my latest was in a frittata with caramelized onions, mmm ! And hummus with lots of tahini is my fave. Love this post, makes me love chick peas even more. Can’t wait to try your recipe.

Do you make your own Arabic bread to serve with? Would love to see that recipe too… Beautiful pics by the way, as always !
Mustapha

12. Jan, 2010

Mmm.. This is one of my favorite breakfast meals! (yes breakfast), Of course, one shouldn’t forget the pickles, mint & Tomatoes on the side!
Bethany

12. Jan, 2010

Agreed. I’ve had it for breakfast…it is the ultimate!
Mowie @ Mowielicious

12. Jan, 2010

This is my ultimate favourite Lebanese dish. I could eat it all day and all night.

Having said that, I’ve never had it for breakfast!
Jamie

12. Jan, 2010

Oooh both chick peas and lamb? My absolute favorites and this dish looks so extraordinarily delish! Love it! Breakfast? Really? Interesting, but I see that I could eat this anytime, anywhere!

Congrats on the new blog! Wow! Truly dynamic you are!
shayma

12. Jan, 2010

huge huge fan of humus b’lahme. it’s not easy to photograph white foods, your photos came out lovely. i also like humus the way an egyptian friend has taught me- chickpeas, olive oil and a dash of cumin powder. sometimes the tahineh is too strong for me (only sometimes!) best wishes, shayma
Bethany

12. Jan, 2010

Hi Shayma and thanks for your lovely comment If the chicpeas are left chunky then I believe you are talking about this one http://www.dirtykitchensecrets.com/mad-about-chickpeas-hummus-balila/ I do love that version as well…
Jeanne @ Cooksister

12. Jan, 2010

Ooooh – I think I’m in love! Chickpeas are fantastically versatile ( I also serve thm instead of mashed potato – mashed with some slow-cooked sliced onions in lots of olive oil with amoky paprika). I like the etymology lesson too – I’m a sucker for words
Cherine

12. Jan, 2010

I’m mad about chickpeas too. Love the photos, they’re so appetizing!! Congrats on the new blog. I’ll take a peek at it.
Trissa

12. Jan, 2010

Congratulations on your new blog! I’ll head over to check it soon. In the meantime thanks for sharing the information on hummus! Who would have thought a chickpea could be so interesting. You managed to pull it off!
Asha@FSK

12. Jan, 2010

Sighhh.. if this isn’t comfort food, I don’t know what is!! Add to that, home cured lamb… you lucky lucky thing ) Does your dad sell them by any chance??
Kitchen Butterfly

12. Jan, 2010

You know what I’ll be making next as I have a huge bottle of Tahini, a rather large tin of chickpeas and some pomegranate molasses……Thanks for the inspiration!

Congrats on the Nomad Telegraph……………it looks gorgeous. Wow!!!!!!!!
Miranda

12. Jan, 2010

mmh…this looks incredible. i would love some of that about now!
Happy Cook

12. Jan, 2010

My daughter love chickpea too. When she was little she used to cakk them indian balls It is a really unique way of serving them with the meat.
Global Patriot

12. Jan, 2010

Beautiful dish, though I was expecting the savory lamb to stand on its own. What a surprise to see the pomegranate molasses on the list of ingredients, fabulous twist!
The Cooking Ninja

12. Jan, 2010

mmm…I love chick peas too. That dish is delicious.

Congrats on your new blog.
Maunika

12. Jan, 2010

Beth love hummus loads. I cud eat it with anything. Never tried it like this with minced lamb but have had it with diced lamb in restaurants. I definitely going to make this one. Your recipe looks really good.
Sarka

12. Jan, 2010

I don’t know if I love chickpea but I definitely like it! I bought a glass of tahini couple of months ago to make hummus (aka hummus b’ tahini) at home but never did it. Now you inspired me to try it.
Congrats of your new blog – wonderful!
Cynthia

12. Jan, 2010

I’m with you – a serious lover of chickpeas.

Hey, did you hear that feature on the BBC about the “row” over whose hummus is the best – Lebanese or Israeli?
Ben

13. Jan, 2010

Very nice post! I must admit that I don’t know much about hummus, other than eating them once or twice at parties, but I really want to make something with them now.
Bethany

13. Jan, 2010

Hey Cynthia! Yes I did and I’ve actually been thinking about writing up a post on my thoughts on the whole thing…I think I will now.
Katherine

13. Jan, 2010

I like chickpeas too. What a great combination, chickpeas, pinenuts and lamb mince. Now I’m hungry.
shayma

13. Jan, 2010

hi beth, the recipe from your link is very nice- but different than the one i am referring to. the hummus w/o tahineh she taught me involves whizzing the chickpeas and adding lemon, salt and cumin powder, that’s all. in fact claudia roden has the simple decription/recipe for it in her book, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. x shayma
The Grubworm

13. Jan, 2010

Oh my word, i am in Hummus heaven! Hummus is one of those things i can eat over and over again, and there is nothing like the home made stuff. I’m excited by the recipe for Hummus B’Lahme – the combination of lamb and pinenuts works so well. Those photos are great too.
meeta

13. Jan, 2010

i love chickpeas too in almost any form and especially served with tahini! this with the meat looks great too and i can’t wait to get to dubai to start eating this stuff!
Su-yin

13. Jan, 2010

This looks fabulous – I love pine nuts as well and I think it’s brilliant that you’ve added this to the hummus. And you have meat in it as well, could it get any better?
deeba

13. Jan, 2010

I adore the ‘cast of characters’…you have me craving for some right now Beth! I love your foodie adventures! YUM!!
Bethany

13. Jan, 2010

Shayma- sent ya an email x
Grubworm- AMEN!
Su-yin: it’s diiiiiivine!
Deeba: I wanna hold youuuur haaaaand! XX
Bethany

14. Jan, 2010

I’m bringing you some this weekend
Barbara Bakes

14. Jan, 2010

The pine nuts sound like a great addition. I really need to get more brave about using chickpeas. This looks delicious!
tasteofbeirut

15. Jan, 2010

I too love hummos and sizzling pieces of fatty lamb! Yum! Your photos are splendid!
Chris Bourne

15. Jan, 2010

Need your food need your food!
Manggy

18. Jan, 2010

I went to an all-hummus restaurant in NY a few months ago and I absolutely loved it! This looks fantastic!
Ladybird

19. Jan, 2010

Hummus rocks! And it is sooo good for you, always a bonus
Kate/Kajal

19. Jan, 2010

I can see myself wiping this dish clean. I am a huge fan of Lebanese/Arabic food, and this is absolutely delcious ! The the kinda stuff that i love ! Awesome post, gr8 pictures I’m loving it !!!
diva

19. Jan, 2010

oh beth! ME TOO!! mad about chickpeas. i used to eat em outta the can just like that. lol.
beautiful houmous. i like having houmous wraps or sandwiches. so yummy!
barbara

08. Feb, 2010

I’m on a chick pea love fest at the moment. Too. I’ve been making a similar dish with pork mince served with rice. The lamb version sounds delicious.

14 Responses to “Non-Traditional Kebbeh Laktine- Pumpkin Kebbeh”

chris Bourne

24. Oct, 2009

I love the texture inside the pumpkin kebbeh. A real veggie bonanza!
Mowie

24. Oct, 2009

Beth! Is that the Kebbeh from the gorgeous turquoise book I was looking through when I came over for dinner the other night? They look divine, and yes, that book is stunning, I’ve put it on my Amazon wishlist =)

Great alternative to the normal meat Kebbeh, I can only imagine how yum this tastes. Must try it out. Loving the photos too – lovely yellow bowl! xxx
Deborah

24. Oct, 2009

Wow, looks amazing but I am not sure I could replicate the recipe here in umbria. Wish I was able to meet all you foodies at the upcoming connect but I may be in the US at the time.
Hélène

25. Oct, 2009

I’ve never heard of a pumpkin kebbeh but it looks delicious. What a great recipe.
Bethany

25. Oct, 2009

Mowie- Yup, that’s the one. So beautiful, I just wanna go hug it again. right now!

Deborah- We wish we could meet you to. Perhaps the next one!

Helene- Oh-so-good!
The Cooking Ninja

25. Oct, 2009

Never had this before but it sure smells good from where I’m at the moment. And it’s near lunch time – your delicious dish makes me so hungry to take a bit off the screen.
Meeta

25. Oct, 2009

oh yum! these truly are incredible looking- i really love the spices and it’s such a brilliant take on the classic! i have to put that book on my wish list. My husband will love you for that – yet another cookbook! lol!
lamaKD

26. Oct, 2009

I’m preparing this lovely dish today.. I’m thinking to make it in the oven pan (bilsuniyeh) hope it works ..
I can’t wait to get started,
thanx Beth for the recipe

cheerz
My Taste Heaven

26. Oct, 2009

this is something new to me..thanks for sharing
can’t find them here in Malaysia~~~
great recipe!!
S.

26. Oct, 2009

Oh wow!
I have 2 books by the Maaloufs–I just bought a copy of ’saha’ which chronicles their travels through Lebanon and Syria and it’s amazing. Will definitely pick up a copy of Turquoise–this recipe looks so good! Thanks for posting this, it’s great :O)
Manggy

26. Oct, 2009

Don’t worry, I’m not tired of Kebbeh, but then again I’ve never had one before either! Looks delicious
lamaKD

26. Oct, 2009

I tried this recipe today, and I absolutely love it!
I hovered up my plate and my husband did too..

baking it in an oven pan was nice (& easy) thing to do as well..

thanx
tasteofbeirut

01. Nov, 2009

I must say, this version looks fabulous! I can just taste it! I am surprised there is no flour in the shell, so I bet the pumpkin flavor really comes through!
Bethany

04. Nov, 2009

Glad you enjoyed. And thanks for letting me know

Dirty Kitchen Secrets