It’s no secret I love Lebanese food – hummus is practically a primary food group where my diet is concerned and I’m definitely no stranger to the island’s best Lebanese eateries.
One of my favourites is Beyroute Bistro and Deli . Since discovering it last April during my Easter break, I have been there more times than I can count. I’ve practically memorised the menu and the management knows me and my family by name. I also recently discovered that the owner is in fact a childhood friend from elementary school! (yes, Bahrain is a small, small place).
Since discovering it last April during my Easter break, I have been there more times than I can count. I’ve practically memorised the menu and the management knows me and my family by name. I also recently discovered that the owner is in fact a childhood friend from elementary school! (yes, Bahrain is a small, small place).
In any case, during one of my recent visits I tried the Pumpkin Kibbeh, which the waiter assured me was completely meat and dairy-free. It was unsurprisingly, delightful – little parcels of fragrant spinach chickpeas and walnuts covered in a slightly sweet and crisp coating of pumpkin and bulgur wheat. Although it wasn’t greasy at all – it was in fact deep fried, so I set about recreating a slightly healthier, baked version.
- 1 cup steamed and pureed pumpkin
- 1¼ cup wholewheat bulgur, cooked
- Spices: 1 tsp each of cumin powder, ground coriander, cinnamon, paprika + ½ a tsp of all spice
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 2-3 tbsp of warm water, mixed until gelled)
- FOR THE STUFFING
- 1 cup frozen (or 2-3 cups of tightly packed fresh) spinach
- 1 can (drained) or 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp of sumac
- pinch of nutmeg
- canola oil or cooking spray
- Start by steaming the pumpkin and pureeing in a food processor or using a strong fork. Other recipes call for draining the pumpkin of its moisture overnight but a few minutes of pressing it in a sieve did the trick for me.
- Cook the bulgur as directed on the package and season – it shouldn’t take too long as bulgur is already parboiled so keep a steady eye on it and make sure it doesn’t go mushy.
- Combine the pumpkin, bulgur, spices, flax egg and olive oil in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. You should have a mixture that easily spread and not too crumbly. If it’s too “wet” add in a little more bulgur or even some breadcrumbs would do the trick.
- At this point, you’ll want to pre-heat your oven to 350 F/180 C, unless you plan on baking later.
- Now on to the stuffing! In a pan sauté the onions and garlic on medium heat in some olive oil or canola oil spray for 5-8 minutes until softened. Add in the chopped tomato followed by the spinach and stir through along with the sumac, nutmeg, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chickpeas (along with a little reserve water or vegetable stock if you feel the mixture getting dry – although this shouldn’t be the case if you’re using frozen spinach) and allow to simmer on low heat.
- In a separate pan, toast the walnuts for a few minutes, stirring frequently, then add to the rest of the spinach mixture.
- Now it’s time to assemble. Grease a medium sized pan/casserole dish with some canola oil spray and start to layer the bottom of the dish with the pumpkin crust. You ideally want to split the mixture between the top and bottom layer. Spoon the stuffing on top as evenly as possible and cover with the remaining crust mixture, smoothing out with a spatula as needed.
- Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden
Served alongside a heaping salad of mixed greens, plum tomatoes and olives and fresh mint dressing, and a little soy yoghurt for dipping purposes.
While this recipe may seem a little daunting judging by the ingredient list, I assure you it’s pretty straightforward and the whole thing comes together in under 30 minutes. It’s also the kind of dish you could prep a day in advance and just pop in the oven for a weekday dinner.
The leftovers made for a fantastic packed lunch the next day – I’m not sure what it is but this kibbeh actually tastes better cold.
Simple, vegan, delicious, and waistline friendly – my kind of Lebanese food!
ïa says
Hi,
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe !
Did you know that since a number of lebanese go either vegetarian or vegan during lent and advent, lots of traditional recipes such as stuffed leaves/veggies, kibbeh, etc, have a “ate3” counterpart ? I looked a bit here : http://www.tasteofbeirut.com/tag/vegan/ and thought there might be some you’d enjoy 🙂
Becky says
I love this recipe. I’m always looking for Lebanese dishes that are vegetarian . This sounds delicious and will definitely be making it soon. Thanks for sharing.
I was wondering if it freezes well? I wanted to make a few of them and freeze straight after I assemble them.
Nada says
Hi Becky, thank you for your kind words, it’s definitely one of my most popular recipes so I hope you enjoy it. It definitely does freeze well, however I’d recommend cooking them for a little longer if you’re making them from frozen.
KB says
It can be frozen because they sell frozen boxed ones .
Mary says
I made this for dinner yesterday. It was lovely and definitely going into my regular cooking schedule! 😉 I found the 20 minute prep time to be a bit optimistic, though — I think it took me nearly an hour — although I’m sure it’ll be quicker once I’ve made it a couple of times. Thanks for such a delicious recipe and introducing me to something other than pasta to cook with pumpkin!
Susan says
Sounds yummy and can’t wait to try it with the pumpkins I’m growing in my yard this year. I’d like to point out that pumpkin and spinach are two foods very high in Lutein And Zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that are particularly good for eye health. So kibbeh is very good for the eyes!
Cyril says
Gonna try to make it this weekend, sounds delicious. Do you think this works with canned pumpkin puree?
Clara Safi says
Flavorful and delicious! May take a little longer prepping first time around. Also used canned pumpkin and only soaked the burghul and it came out great. Thumbs up.
Elvi says
Is the bulgur measurement for the dry or cooked amount? (I assume dry amount). Also, what are the approximate measurements of the casserole dish? Thanks!