Kibbeh Balls in Minty Yogurt Sauce
KIBBEH LABNIYEH
LEBANON | SYRIA
This is one of my favorite Lebanese/Syrian dishes, although I prefer the Lebanese version because of the added mint. The Syrian one is plain without any herbs, and most people stabilize the yogurt with cornstarch whereas few people in Lebanon do this. Instead, they use one or more eggs depending on the quantity of yogurt, which makes for a lighter, more refined texture.
SERVES 4
Kibbeh balls from Kibbeh in Sumac Sauce
Sea salt
1. Prepare the kibbeh balls as directed and put them uncooked in the freezer while you make the yogurt sauce.
2. Make the herb-garlic mixture as directed in step 1 of the cooked yogurt sauce recipe, using fresh mint in the herb-garlic mixture. Set the mint-garlic mixture aside.
3. Make the yogurt sauce as directed in step 2, and once the yogurt has boiled, drop in the barely frozen kibbeh balls, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally—do this gently so that you do not break the kibbeh balls. Stir in the mint-garlic mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes more.
4. Serve hot, preferably as soon as it is ready (see Note) in soup plates with spoons to scoop up the sauce.
NOTE: You can make this ahead and reheat it, but as with all dishes cooked in yogurt, you have to be careful not to let the yogurt curdle during reheating. You need to reheat over low heat and stir very regularly at the beginning and all the time at the end as the yogurt is about to boil.