Ginger's Lebanese Fried Kibbeh Recipe

Kibbeh is an amazing Arabian dish that I learned about years ago while working at a Syrian owned restaurant in Columbia called Al-Amir.  This restaurant is still here to this day, owned & operated by my old friend and previous boss Mohammed. He has opened two other locations since I last worked at it over ten years ago.  I love middle eastern food and really my love for it stems from my introduction to their delicious food while working at  Al-amir.  My time at this restaurant was so educational and so full of love and family. We used to work til 10pm and then have a family dinner with all the people we worked with at the end of the shift.  Mohammed would put on elaborate dinners for us, middle eastern and american.  One night I even remember having an Alaskan king crab feast.  He has got such a big heart and is so full of generosity.  To this day when I go back to the restaurant he treats me as an old friend, as family and buys me an appetizer or a free dessert.  He and his wife Melissa (who is american) are wonderful.

I worked at Al-Amir right around the time of 9/11, you can imagine the things that were said about the restaurant and the people from the middle east who worked there.  I really saw how uneducated and unloving Americans can be.  I was very proud to be these peoples friend and to also know better, that they were about as American as you could be.  They were going after the American dream, paying taxes here in the U.S.  They love America, that is why they are here.  Mohammed was very conservative when I worked there, no showing of any skin.  Now when I go in he has these cute lil waitresses with low cut tops.  I called him on this.  He said "I am more liberal then I used to be, but I will still always vote Republican." This gave me quite a laugh.  He is a funny man, I will give him that.  I will also give him credit for being one of the hardest workers, most entrepreneurial  risk taking individuals I know.  Most of all I will give him the greatest credit for believing in his native food and bringing the most delicious food to Columbia.  I'm sure these are recipes he learned from his Momma and oh does he do her proud.

So as I have mentioned in past blogs, I love to eat out and go home and recreate.  Well, I did just that with the Kibbeh.  Funny though...Fried Kibbeh is no longer on Al-Amirs Menu and it has been 10+ years since I have had it.  Regardless there was a Mediterranean themed supper club and I decided to bring back Kibbeh into my life and introduce it to the lives of others.  It is definitely my take on it as traditionally it uses ground beef and I made it with turkey burger.  Also it is usually encapsulated in a Bulgar crust which I swapped out for an easier method by using Nasoyas Egg Roll wrappers.  Needless to say,  I knocked my socks off and those who tried it!  And I would say it was pretty darn close to what I remebered.  So here it is.  The "New" treasured recipe for Fried Kibbeh!  Enjoy!  And thank you Al-Amir for your inspiration and your delightful Middle Eastern Cuisine!

Ginger’s Lebanese Fried Kibbeh w/ Tahini dipping sauce

The reason this is a lebanese recipe is because one of Mohammed's original cooks was an 80 year old Lebanese woman named Rose.  She was incredible.  I could write a whole other story about her another day. Unfortunately for the restaurant and for Mohammed she moved to Canada to be near family.  Oh how we all miss Rose.  She measured her ingredients from the palm of her hand and brought pure magic to every dish.  So I dedicate this recipe to her!  Miss you Rose!

Kibbeh:

1 Package of Eggroll Wrappers NASOYA BRAND

1 # Dark Meat Ground Turkey

¼ cup of pine nuts (toasted)

2 medium Vidalia onions chopped

2 large garlic cloves finely chopped

2 TBsp unsalted butter

2TBsp Extra virgin Olive oil

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

Tsp Paprika

Tsp Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Tsp Wostechire sauce

TBsp Oregano

2 Tsp Cumin

2 Tsp Coriander

1 8oz package Greek Feta

Heat oil & butter in cast iron pan, add onions at high sizzling temp and turn to med heat, cook til browned and add garlic for a quick sautee to release flavor. Add 1# Turkey meat to pan, while cooking on med/High heat add remaining ingredients (minus the feta and wrappers), cook til browned.  Take off heat and allow to cool to room temp then add crumbled feta and add 2 tbsp mix to wrappers and fold.  Serve crisp and warm with Tahini dipping sauce.

Tahini Dipping Sauce:

½ cup tahini

1 cup greek 2% yoghurt

Juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

Tsp Paprika

2 small cloves garlic finely chopped

¼ tsp cayenne

¼ cup olive oil

Water to thin out

Mix all the above ingredients together with a mixer, add water to make desired consistency.