Idlib Kibbeh in Sheep's Milk Yogurt Sauce

Torpedo-shaped kibbeh shells cooked directly in a stabilized sheep's milk yogurt sauce fragrant with dried mint and garlic — the Idlib version of kibbeh bil laban, richer and more deeply flavored than its Lebanese or Jordanian counterparts.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups fine bulgur wheat
• 400 g lean lamb, ground twice
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1½ tsp salt
• 200 g lamb mince for filling
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 kg full-fat sheep's milk yogurt (or thick Greek yogurt)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 5 cloves garlic cloves, minced to paste
• 2 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 tbsp dried mint

Method

1. Prepare kibbeh shells as in the Kibbeh Halabi recipe: rinse and dry bulgur, mix with ground lamb, allspice, cinnamon, and salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Make filling: cook onion in butter until golden, add lamb, break apart and cook through. Add pine nuts. Season.
3. Form kibbeh into torpedoes with the filling inside. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
4. To stabilize the yogurt sauce: whisk yogurt, egg, cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot until completely smooth.
5. Place the pot over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction with a wooden spoon. The sauce will liquefy then slowly thicken. When it reaches a gentle simmer (do not boil), reduce to low heat.
6. Gently lower the raw kibbeh into the simmering yogurt sauce. They will cook in the sauce for 20 minutes. Do not stir — only tilt the pan gently.
7. Meanwhile, fry the garlic paste in clarified butter until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Pour this garlic butter directly into the sauce.
8. Remove from heat. Crush dried mint between your palms and scatter over the sauce.
9. Serve from the pot into wide shallow bowls, with rice.

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