On Mezze night number two, we had pumpkin kibbeh, tabouli, bean dip, flat bread chips, and fried tempeh kibbeh. Overall, it was delicious, and I have to say I’m pretty proud of my new creation, the fried tempeh kibbeh.
The pumpkin Kibbeh was bought from the Middle East Bakery on Hope st. I just happened upon them in the freezer while I was looking for the ill-fated felafel. They are vegan, and cooked straight from frozen, so they’re quick and hard to stuff up, which is always a winning combination.
I picked the bean dip after a cursory net serach about Lebanese food. I have since discovered that it is not Lebanese, but Egyptian. For that I apoligse. However I did make it, because it is what I had the ingredients for, and I have to say it was very yummy. I used this recipe from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, and served it with vegetable crudites and flat bread chips.
Bean dip with capsicum, carrot and snow peas from our garden
I made the tabouli from a recipe in Arak and Mezze (available from the Moreland Libraries), however I overestimated the amount of parsley I had left so it was a little heavy on the burghul.
As tasty as all of this was, the main event was the tempeh kibbeh. I made these up because we had some tempeh that needed using, and I wanted to try my hand at veganising the meat kibbeh I always see at Lebanese restaurants.
Pumpkin kibbeh to the right, Tempeh Kibbeh on the left
Vegan Tempeh Kibbeh
- 250 g tempeh, mashed
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons of soaked burghul
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 chopped spring onions
- salt, to taste
- oil, for frying
- With your hands, mash all ingredients together very well, until there are very few tempeh lumps left. If it is too dry, add a little oil. If it is too wet, add some more bread crumbs.
- Taste the mixture, add salt if necessary.
- Roll the mixture into balls.
- Deep fry the balls in batches, in a wok or deep fryer. You could also bake the balls in the oven for a lighter dish.
- Serve with bread and salad.
