Meal prep for days with this simple lamb kibbeh recipe
What was once a thoughtless chore that had to be done once or twice a week has transformed into an Indiana Jones-like expedition – dodging fellow adventurers, trying your best to track down much-coveted items and attempting to escape as quickly as possible. Yep, we are referring to your weekly grocery shop. To help limit unnecessary (and frantic) supermarket trips, we recommend planning ahead and meal prepping. That’s where fuss-free recipe manual The Plan, Buy, Cook Book comes in. This kitchen counter must-have, written by Jen Petrovic and Gaby Chapman, follows the no-nonsense ethos of ‘plan once, eat well all week’ and trust us, it’s waaaaaaay easier doing it this way. Originally starting out as a meal-prepping app, the cook book combines the idea of planning ahead for future meals and the 4+2+1 formula, which advises you to “double-up” on two recipes per week, cooking twice as much as you need and freezing half. Jen and Gaby have collated 80 of these innovative, easy-to-make meals all in the one recipe book – so all you have to do is pick out a few delicious dishes for the week, write down what you need, make a quick (booby trap-free) stop-off for ingredients and get ready to cook. To help get you started, we’ve handpicked a recipe while you were busy firing up the oven – the extremely moreish lamb kibbeh. These mouth-watering morsels are Middle Eastern-inspired delights best served with a generous helping of tabbouleh – and are also the perfect snack to enjoy now and freeze for later consumption.
INGREDIENTS
90 g burghul (bulgur wheat)
1 onion, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground sumac
600 g minced lamb
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lebanese or Turkish bread
400 g tabbouleh
METHOD
Soak the burghul for 20 minutes, then drain and squeeze out any excess water.
While the burghul is soaking, blend the onion and garlic to a puree in a food processor.
Add the cinnamon, allspice, sumac, lamb, salt and some pepper, and blend to combine. The mixture should resemble a sticky paste.
Transfer the lamb mix to a bowl and add the burghul. Using your hands, mix until well combined.
Using a spoon or wet hands, roll the mixture into dessert spoon-sized oval shapes and place on a plate. If doubling the recipe, freeze one meal at this point.
Cook the kibbeh on a barbecue chargrill plate or in a non-stick frying pan with the oil over a medium heat, turning regularly until brown and cooked through, about six to eight minutes.
Serve with bread, tabbouleh, yoghurt and sauces.
This is an edited extract from The Plan, Buy, Cook Book by Jen Petrovic and Gaby Chapman published by Hardie Grant Books $29.99 and is available where all good books are sold.
Image credit: Bec Hudson
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