Kibbee

Kibbee is a traditional Syrian dish that uses the bulgar wheat and very little meat. It is one of many dishes that fall into the Mediterranean diet.

3 C bulgar wheat
1 lb. ground meat
butter
salt and pepper

Butter a 9x13 pan and a 2 quart pyrex (6x8) pan well. Rinse wheat and let set in warm water for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Seperate a small amount of ground meat onto a paper plate and pepper well. Mix remaining ground meat and wheat in large bowl. Add warm water if nedded to get to stick together. Knead until smooth, workable and evenly mixed. Take a handful of this mixture and work into a ball. Bore a hole into the middle and add a small amount of the peppered ground meat from the paper plate. Shape into a football shape with the ground meat in the center. Place on the buttered 9x13 pan. Make as many as you like. Can fit approximately 9-12 depending on how large you make them. Take remaining wheat mixture and place in the small 2 quart pyrex casserole. Cut into diamonds and place slices of butter on top of the wheat mixture. Place butter slices in the 9x13 pan around the football shaped wheat balls. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until golden brown on both sides for the balls and golden brown on the top for the small pan.