Baked Kibbeh-Style Pie

Ingredients

• Shell: 1½ cups fine bulgur, soaked 15 minutes and squeezed + 1 lb Ground Beef + 1 grated onion + 1 tsp allspice + 1 tsp cumin
• Filling: ½ lb more Ground Beef + 1 diced onion + ⅓ cup pine nuts or slivered almonds + ½ tsp cinnamon
• Olive oil
• Yogurt and salad, to serve

Method

1. Knead the shell mixture (bulgur, meat, onion, spices, 1½ tsp salt) into a cohesive paste — food processor pulses make it properly fine.
2. Cook the filling: brown the meat and onion, add the nuts and cinnamon; cool slightly.
3. Press half the shell paste into an oiled baking dish, spread the filling, and top with the remaining shell, smoothing with wet hands.
4. Score the traditional diamond pattern deep into the top, and drizzle generously with olive oil.
5. Bake at 400°F (205°C) 35–40 minutes until deep brown (160°F throughout). Rest 10, cut on the diamonds, serve with yogurt. The tray version of Lebanon's national dish — all the ceremony, none of the torpedo-shaping apprenticeship.