Kibe

As tradition built it

Kibe cru

Serves 4 to 6 . about 1 hour, plus soaking the bulgur

Ingredients

• 500g lamb or beef, finely minced
• 250g bulgur
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp, ground cloves
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1, grated onion
• small handful, chopped mint
• 1 tsp Brazilian Syrian-pepper blend
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• a handful of cubes ice

Method

1. Finely mince lamb or beef the same day it is to be eaten.
2. Work the meat with bulgur, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, onion, mint, a Brazilian Syrian-pepper blend and olive oil.
3. Mix with ice in the bowl to stop the cook's own hand heat from partially cooking and discolouring the meat before service.

Notes

The clearest Brazilian departure from the Levantine original is the fried, filled version, quibe frito, built around a core of requeijão or plain cheese at its centre, a specifically local addition with no Middle Eastern ancestor.

What a modern chef changes

Ice-cold mincing, held to the dish's own discipline

Rung 4: ice-cold mincing for kibe cru

Method

1. Soak the bulgur the standard minimum eight hours, then dehydrate it briefly before working it into the meat, for a firmer shell that holds its shape through frying rather than turning pasty in the centre.
2. Grind the spice blend, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and black pepper, fresh in the spice grinder immediately before mixing rather than using a pre-ground jar.
3. For the raw version, chill the mixing bowl itself over ice before the meat ever goes in, holding the whole process at the low, controlled temperature the dish needs to be served safely and well.