Around the World in 195 Meals #2 — Lebanon
I’ve had a wild few months, in the best possible way. There have been weeks where my own house feels foreign because I’ve spent so little time in it; instead I’ve been out enjoying the sun and the company of friends and family. Food has been a bit of an afterthought at times — a lot of the time I’ve arrived home late at night and eaten whatever’s to hand. At other times it’s out of my control, and I’ve eaten whatever I’ve been given — not that I’m complaining!
All this to say, it’s taken a long time to get from country number 1, to country number 2. But I always knew I was coming back to this project, and I’m so glad I did.
What I made 🍅
Kibbeh, tabbouleh salad, and a yoghurt dip.
- Cobbled together ‘seven spice’ using a Jamie Oliver/Salma Hayek recipe
- Kibbeh broadly following this recipe from Feel Good Foodie
- Tabbouleh from Cookie and Kate
- Made a yoghurt dip — recipe from Emma’s brain
Paired with 🍷
A glass of petit verdot red wine (this dish was lamb heavy, and if I know one thing about wine, it’s that red meat and red wine are the best of friends).
Highs and lows 📈
High point: Realising that while all the individual bits I’d made were nice, together they hit new flavour heights.
Low point 1: Shopping beforehand had me so frustrated — Kibbeh requires a bunch of specific spice mixes that you just don’t seem to be able to buy in the UK. What I ended up making was probably an affront to the real thing, and I think the flavour of the kibbeh suffered for it. I look at the ingredients in kamouneh (which I couldn’t get hold of) and it’s so irritating to know how much nicer it would have been, and how much greater the depth of flavour.
Low point 2: My poor food processor screaming like it was possessed by a demon as I tried to grind up half a pound of raw lamb and a ton of bulgur wheat.
Lessons learnt ✍
I still haven’t quite cracked the right way to do bulgur wheat — it always tastes undercooked to me, and I can’t actually tell if it’s supposed to taste like that! I’d probably cook it properly through, rather than just soaking it in cold water as the recipe suggested.
I used a baked recipe, just because I balk a bit at anything that needs to be fried in a shit-ton of oil. But I think the fried variety, with individual deep fried kibbeh, might have been nicer — I ended up with something that I suspect was closer to meatloaf.
Chef’s notes 👨🍳
I’ve had tabbouleh-adjacent salads before, but this one was next level — it’s so wild that a simple combination of ingredients can taste so darn good. And quick to make too — it’s definitely going into the rotation.
But the kibbeh was vastly more fun to make — it’s essentially the meat equivalent of a toast sandwich, with one type of meat sandwiched between another. And it’s always a good time when there’s a food processor involved. All in all, it was a fun experience, and great food if I do say so myself — no complaints from me!
Dish #2 out of 195
Lebanon— Kibbeh and Tabbouleh
