Stuffed kibbeh - a dish of spiced ground meat covered in a shell of very light uncooked ground meat - is one of my husband's favorite dishes. It's a bit complicated to make (don't even attempt it if you don't have a food processor) and I'm not a great fan of it myself so I don't prepare it as often as he would like. Still, when I decided to have an Arab-food-themed Holiday party I knew I had to make it.

There is very little difference between stuffed and baked kibbeh beyond the cooking method. The baked version is easier to prepare for a party as you don't have to be boiling the meatballs at the last minute. It's a little bit drier than the regular version, however, and my husband didn't like it as much, though it was still a hit at my party.

When I prepare it I use ground lamb for the shell and ground beef for the stuffing, just to have a little variety. You can use ground lamb or ground beef for either or both.

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Baked Kibbeh

Ingredients

For the shell

2 cups burghul

4 cups ice cold water

2 lbs. ground lamb

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. allspice

For the stuffing

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 tbs butter

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. allspice

8 tbsp. melted butter

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375F.

Prepare the shell. Soak the burghul in the cold water for 5 minutes and drain. Mix the burghul with the lamb, onion, salt, pepper and allspice. Put in a food processor and grind until it's very smooth. You may need to do this in several batches.

Prepare the filling. Sautee the pine nuts in butter in a large frying pan until toasted. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until the meat is cooked.

Butter a 9" x 12" baking pan. Spread half of the lamb (shell) mixture on the bottom of the pan. Cover with the filling mixture. Cover with the rest of the shell mixture. Pour the melted butter all over the top.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, until it cooks through.

Adapted from A Taste of Lebanon