Khuba/Kubbe?

[jenny_haddow]

I have a Kubbe attachment with my mincer/sausage maker. There's no explanation of how it is to be used, so does anyone have any info? I'm assuming its like the Arab Khuba mix which produces a shell of meat and cracked wheat which is then stuffed with goodies. I've never eaten them in a tubular sausage form though.

Cheers

jen

[markh]

Hi Jenny, my mincer came with the same sort of attachment, felt obliged to try it.

I used a 'Koupas' recipe from Paula Wolfert 'Mediterranean Cooking', a spiced lamb mixture in a lamb mince & bulger wheat shell. I can post it if you are interested.

She describes forming 'thin, even cylinders' of the wheat mixture around a forefinger - I assumed this is what the attachment does (without the finger..) - and it worked quite well. Just feed the mixture as if its a sausage mix and it flows around the supports to give an intact hollow tube.

The final result was not particularly to my taste (Pine Nuts, Cinnamon & Lamb ) but I imagine the attachment would be good for something like canneloni since it makes unbroken cylinders.

[jenny_haddow]

Hi markh, good idea about the canneloni, I'll give that a go, and yes please, do post the recipe in the recipe section for me. You can never have enough recipes.

Cheers

Jen

[markh]

This is scanned and OCR'd verbatim from 'Mediterranean Cooking' by Paula Wolfert. My text recognition software has a bit of a blind spot for v's and w's - I have tried to correct most of it.

Koupas

Ovals stuffed with lamb, parsley, and fennel

(Cyprus)


Levantines love to stuff one thing into another. One of the most unusual dishes
is the Arab kibbeh and its Cypriot version, koupas - a blend of ground lean lamb,
bulgur, grated onion, and spices, molded on the index finger into little football
shapes, stuffed, and fried.
In this Cypriot version, the crisp shell is made with very little meat and a
high proportion of well-saturated bulgur. Thc method for making the shell is
unconventional: Bulgur is soaked in salty hot water, making the grains swell
without turning mushy. When mixed with the small amount of meat, it binds
quickly and smoothly and can be molded around thc finger with ease.
MAKES ABOUT 18 3-INCH ROLLS, SERVING 4 TO 6 AS PART OF A MIDDLE EASTERN BUFFET

SHELL
1 cup fine-grain bulgur
3 cups hot water
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 ounces extra-lean ground leg of lamb
2 level tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black peppcr


FILLING
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ounces ground lamb shouldcr

2 tablespovns butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt
1/4 cup cubed tomato
1/3 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parslev
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Oil for deep-frying
Lemon quarters

l. Rinse the bulgur to remove any dust; drain and put in a deep bowl. Mix the
3 cups hot water with the salt, pour over the bulgur, and let stand 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: place chopped onion and oil in a medium
skillet and cook until golden and soft. Add the ground lamb shoulder and brown
lightly, breaking up the meat with a fork, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and
cook, uncovered, over low heat for 15 minutes, or until all the water has evapo-
rated and the meat begins to brown in its own fat. Add the butter and pine nuts
and allow meat and nuts to brown lightly. Add the spices, salt, tomato, and herbs.
Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring. Remove from the heat to cool. Makes about
1 cup.

3. Drain the bulgur and squeezc to remove moisture. Mix lean lamb with bulgur,
flour, and pepper in the workbowl of a food processor. Process 30 seconds, or
until the mixture mounds on the metal blade. The texture should not be sticky
but firm and somewhat smooth. Place in a bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly
before proceeding.

4. To form the koupas: Dip vour hands into a bowl of ice water and pinch off a
walnut-size piece of the lamb-bulgur mixture. Knead gently, then use the wet
palm of the other hand to mold it around your forefinger, making a thin, even
cylinder about 2 1/2 inches long. Seal any breaks by briefly dipping the shell into
the ice water and smoothing the dough. Carfully slide the shell from your finger
with vour other hand. Quickly push about 2 teaspoons of the stuffing into the
shell. Pinch the ends to seal, using a few drops of cold water to help it bind.
Gently squeeze the roll with wet palms to form an elongated football shape. Place
the koupas on a flat tray. Repeat with the remaining lamb-bulgur mixture and
stuffing. Cover the stuffed koupas with plastic wrap and partially freeze for 10
minutes to help prevent the shells from cracking.

5. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil to 325 degrees. Add half the koupas to the
skillet. Fry, turning, until they are copper colored and crisp all over, about 5
minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or
at room temperature, with lemon quarters to squeeze over the koupas.

I'm not quite sure where the Fennel comes into the recipe. Maybe it should be Dill?

[jenny_haddow]

Thanks for that markh, sounds very similar to the dish I had in Saudi Arabia. I'll give it a go.

Cheers

Jen

[vinner]

Hi, Jenny. If you are still reading this thread, I had expiremented with this recipe in the past, and had success by adding 1 tsp ground cumin and one finely minced garlic clove (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder) to the filling. It really complements the lamb and gives a ice, kicked up flavor.

[dougal]

Spelling is a bit of an obstacle to internet searching for such things.

Alternate spellings inclube Kebbe, Kebbeh, Kibbe, Kibbeh... There's 10 pages or so of recipes in Mrs Roden's Book of Middle Eastern Food...

Yep, the idea is to extrude a tube rather than forming it around, for example, a finger. The tube can then be cut into whatever lengths you think appropriate, and the ends pinched to seal after stuffing.

[jenny_haddow]

I'm keeping this recipe 'up my sleeve' for a big gathering. I suspect it will be time consuming to do, but interesting, and I plan to put the filling in a syringe of some sort, like the type to inject doughnuts with jam. I can foresee some grief trying to get the filling in the tubes otherwise. Anyway it will be part of an Arab buffet, which always seem to go down well.

Jen