Kibbeh Burgers

Dedicated to the people of Lebanon 

By Pam Turczyn

It’s with a measure of chagrin that I share this recipe with you. Here is my story:

Growing up in a Detroit suburb during the 1960s, my family would bundle into the car on Sundays to visit my Lebanese grandmother in the inner city. Kibbeh was her signature dish and my favorite. She would always make up a plate for me with her buttery, pine nut-studded rice pilaf on the side and a glass of fizzy orange “pop” to wash it down. Often, we would bring home a package of kibbeh to reheat and enjoy during the week.

A typical kibbeh is deep fried and shaped like a 4-inch-long football, or is layered and baked in a pan. My grandmother’s resembled a hamburger. There was an outer layer of ground beef mixed with bulgur wheat that would crisp up when fried in a little butter. Inside was a delectable stuffing of sauteed ground lamb with onions, pine nuts and aromatic spices.

When I was 10 years old, Situ — my gramma—died, and homemade kibbeh became a thing of the past for me. Fast forward 10 years and I stopped eating meat. Fast forward another 40 years and my health practitioner urged me to start eating it again. After all these years as a pescatarian, I found that ground beef was the easiest way to reintroduce meat into my kitchen. I tried out hamburgers but no matter what I added to bump up the flavor; I found them lacking.

Then I remembered: kibbeh! Finally, I could recreate my favorite childhood dish. Since I’m gluten-intolerant, I referred to this recipe and tweaked it, cooking the quinoa for shorter periods, adding more spice and using a food processor instead of a meat grinder (does anyone actually own a meat grinder?!).

It was yummy, but took hours to prepare. I’ve trained in commercial kitchens to make dinner for groups of up to 90 people by myself, so my cooking style resembles a caffeinated octopus — all eight arms moving at top speed. But even I found the preparation to be exhausting, so I came up with this recipe that features the same flavor profile but is much simpler to make. 

Why the chagrin? Because, for the children of immigrants, food is the link to our family’s place of origin. Is it just too American of me to alter tradition and make it quick and convenient? Try this out at home and let me know: Is it too American, or just Lebanese enough? 

I like to serve it with tahini sauce on top and semi-caramelized onions and fried potatoes on the side. This yogurt and cucumber salad, seasoned with mint and garlic, is another delicious pairing. 

By the way, there are many vegetarian versions of kibbeh, with pumpkin, spinach, potato or beans substituting for meat. In the ones I’ve sampled, bulgur is essential in giving the kibbeh its form and texture. Here’s a recipe for pumpkin kibbeh.

This recipe makes eight burgers for under $10.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quinoa

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 teaspoon butter

• 1/4 cup pine nuts (in a pinch, substitute with chopped walnuts)

• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 teaspoon allspice

• 2 teaspoon coriander

• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon dried mint

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup tapioca, arrowroot or amaranth flour

• 1 pound ground beef

Rinse and drain quinoa, then place in a saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Heat butter in a small pan and, stirring continuously, toast pine nuts until golden brown. Transfer pine nuts to a small bowl. 

Briefly process onions until diced. Saute in oil until soft, around five minutes. Add spices.

Add tapioca or amaranth flour to the cooked and cooled quinoa.

Place beef in a large mixing bowl. Add quinoa, onions and spices. Mix with your hands to incorporate. 

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture back into the bowl and flatten the surface. Score the surface with a knife to divide into eight equal parts by first drawing a cross along the surface, then an X. 

Dampen your hands with water and extract portions of the mixture to form into burgers. Add in one heaping teaspoon of pine nuts per serving by pressing and distributing them into the mix by hand. Shape the burgers so that the edges are thicker than the center.

Can be grilled, or fried in a skillet with butter.

Serve with tahini sauce.