Mouna's Kibbeh Ya'teen

Mouna was the first professional chef to use our skillets when she catered a party for us in the very earliest days of Hornbeam. She made eight of these baked pumpkin and bulgur wheat dishes, adapting her recipe for our 12" pans. They went down an absolute storm with our guests!

In this vegetarian version of a layered kibbeh, pureed pumpkin (ya'teen in Arabic) is folded into the bulgur wheat turning it a beautiful bright yellow. Slicing the pie as shown gives you very cute diamond shaped pieces, but it could also be cut into squares or wedges.

Kibbeh Ya'teen Recipe

For the Kibbeh

  • 400g/2 cups fine white bulgur
  • 325g/1.25 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup rice flour
  • 1 onion, grated
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1tsp Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper
  • 1/2tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • pomegranate seeds

For the filling

  • 50g olive oil
  • 200g onion, diced
  • 300g spinach
  • 50g cooked chickpeas
  • 10g sumac
  • 15g lemon juice
  • 50g walnuts, chopped (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.

Soak the fine bulgur in 120ml of water for 30 minutes or until the bulgur has absorbed all the water. 

Add the pumpkin puree, rice flour, grated onion and kibbeh spices to the bulgur. Mix well and process in a food mixer or pass through a meat grinder. The mixture should be smooth and dough-like. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

To make the filling, cook the diced onion in one tablespoon of olive oil until it softens, around eight minutes. Add the spinach and chickpeas and cook for another eight minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice, sumac and salt and pepper to taste. Add the walnuts if using.

Oil a No.12 skillet. Divide the kibbeh dough into half. Spread one half evenly on the base of the skillet to create a bottom layer. Spread the spinach filling on top.

To create the top layer, take a handful from the remaining kibbeh dough and spread it between your hands. Place on top of the spinach filling. Continue with the rest of the kibbeh dough until you have covered all the spinach filling.

Gently smooth the top kibbeh layer so that it forms one continuous layer and press down to level it and join the layer with the filling.

Run the tip of a knife around the edges of the kibbeh to slightly separate it from the sides of the pan. With the knife, score the kibbeh into diamonds or squares, only allowing the knife to reach the middle layer.


Pour the remaining olive oil over the surface of the kibbeh and bake for 30 minutes. The kibbeh should feel firm when cooked and turn a golden brown colour.


Decorate with pomegranate seeds. Cut into slices and serve warm.

 

About Mouna

Mouna's Kitchen is a catering company based in east London bringing the best of Syrian and levantine food to your table using top quality ingredients. Inspired by the flavours of Middle Eastern home cooking, Mouna's Kitchen recreates distinctive and diverse levantine flavours with a sophisticated twist.

As well as her Middle Eastern catering menu, Mouna serves authentic Syrian street food from her restaurant Arnabeet in Seven Dials Market, Covent Garden @arnabeetstreetfood

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