\"trick\" kibbeh

8 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Bulgur, fine grade, soaked 1/2 hour in enough water to cover
¼ cup Flour
3 tablespoons Salt
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup Thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup Finely chopped mint
¼ cup Finely chopped parsley
9 cups Chicken stock
1 cup Lentils
Juice of 3 lemons
4 Garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup Olive oil
1 Lemon

Directions

The "trick" in this Syrian-Lebanese vegetable soup is that there's no meat in the kibbeh "meatballs." The idea that a vegetarian dish is a deception (vegetarian dolmas are known as yalanji, the Turkish word for "counterfeit") goes back at least 1,200 years in the Near East.

In bowl, mix bulgur, flour, ½ tablespoon salt, cinnamon, green onions, mint and parsley. Add enough water to make thick dough. Rolls into 24 very firmly packed balls the size of large marbles. Set aside to dry.

Put 9 cups chicken stock in pot, add lentils and bring to boil 10 minutes. Add 2½ tablespoons, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, 20-25 minutes.

Add bulgur balls and boil 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, garlic and oil.

Simmer until balls are done, 10 minutes. Garnish with thin lemon slices.

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