Middle Eastern Kibbeh Tortillas

 Middle Eastern Kibbeh Tortillas

I first got the idea for these while reading Kendall Conrad's book Eat Well Feel Well .

I highly recommend her book it is full of really amazing gourmet recipes. I initially tried out her kibbeh recipe but I felt unsatisfied using lettuce leaves as a substitute for the normal bulgur or wheat based wrappers. I also really wanted a tortilla with cheese but we aren't eating tomatoes yet and so I had to get creative to come up with a sauce that worked and some sort of vegetable accompaniment.  The result is a somewhat unorthodox but very tasty meeting of Mexican and middle eastern cuisine  a coconut flour tortilla filled with kibbeh meat, topped with a zucchini "salsa" a yogurt based sauce and delicious melted cheese. The tortillas may still need some perfecting I pulled the original recipe from here but I had to tweak it quite a bit and the tortillas ended up as more of a cross between a crepe and a pita than a tortilla but they were still great.

Tortilla Ingredients (makes 6-8 tortillas)

• 7 tablespoons coconut flour (available from bulk barn)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 egg whites 
•  3 whole eggs
• 5 tablespoons homemade yogurt
• 5-6 tablespoons water
• pinch of salt 

Zucchini "Salsa"Ingredients 

• 2 whole zucchini
• optional frozen thawed (precooked carrots)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 onion chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 TBSP water
• vegetable oil/olive oil

Kibbeh Ingredients 

• 2 lbs lean ground beef 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon allspice 
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch/light sprinkle of paprika and cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2  medium onions chopped
•  2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (for topping) Swiss or cheddar is best for SCD

Yogurt Sauce

• 1/2 cup  homemade yogurt (see here for explanation of how to make  yogurt/why its important) 
•  2 cloves garlic ( quickly fry garlic if you want a less intense flavour or if you are just starting diet)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• pinch paprika
• pinch salt
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar( lemon juice would also work)

Instructions  

Step 1 Make Tortillas

1. Mix the coconut flour and baking soda and salt with the water, yogurt and eggs. Whisk or blend until all lumps disappear (I used my "big boss" magic bullet type blender) . Should be crepe batter like consistency if not add a bit more water.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil or butter in frying pan on medium high heat. When hot, pour batter in center of pan so approx 3/4 of bottom of pan is covered in thin layer. Tilt the pan around to spread the batter into a large circle, almost covering the entire bottom of the pan.
3.  Wait until the edges are brown on the side of the tortilla, or until lifting slightly and bubble are appearing on top and carefully circle spatula around the bottom of tortilla until safe to flip.Flip the tortilla and cook for about 30 seconds on the other side.

Step 2 Make Kibbeh 

1.  Chop onion and garlic and fry in 1TBSP oil/butter  in wok/frying pan for several minutes until onion is translucent and garlic is slightly browned
2. Add ground beef and cook meat until almost fully brown ~ 5 min
3. Add spices and salt  and continue to cook until meat is brown all the way through,  taste and add more of any of the spices if needed, turn off and set aside

Step 3 Make Salsa, Yogurt Sauce and Cheese Toppings

1. Chop Zucchini into chunks that fit in a food processor or blender, add garlic,water onion, salt  carrot (optional) and pepper
2. Blend until consistency of apple sauce, it is fine is  small chunks still remain
3. Add oil to frying pan, heat on medium and pour mixture into frying pan cook on medium heat  stirring occasionally for ~15 min
4. While zuchinni cooks,  add garlic, vinegar, cumin. paprika and salt to yogurt in a blender and blend quickly until consistency of a liquid sauce
5. Grate cheese (cheddar or swiss)

Final Step: Assembly!

Put tortilla on plate top with kibbeh and zucchini salsa pour some yogurt sauce on top, then sprinkle some cheese on top and quickly pop in microwave to melt cheese, or if you want it crispy put assembled tortilla or baking pan and quickly bake in oven to melt cheese. Yum!