Kibbeh bil Sanieh (كبة بالصينية) — Lebanese Baked Bulgur and Lamb
Overview
Kibbeh in tray form, kibbeh bil sanieh, is the Lebanese answer to lasagna. A dough of fine bulgur and ground lamb is pressed into a wide tray as the base, a savoury filling of cooked lamb mince, onion, pine nuts and warm spices is spread across the middle, then a second layer of bulgur-lamb dough is pressed on top. The whole thing is scored into diamond shapes, drizzled with olive oil, and baked until the top is deep golden and crispy. Cut along the score lines and lift each diamond out, eat warm with cold yogurt and a fresh tomato salad. Less labour than the football-shaped fried kibbeh, more impressive than meatloaf.
The Ingredients
For the bulgur shell
- • 250g fine bulgur wheat (number 1)
- • 500g lean lamb mince
- • 1 small Brown Onion (Crysp), grated
- • 1 tsp Lebanese seven-spice
- • 1 tsp ground cumin
- • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- • Salt & black pepper
For the filling (hashweh)
- • 400g lamb mince
- • 2 Brown Onions (Crysp), finely diced
- • 100g pine nuts
- • 30g Parsley (Crysp)
- • 2 tsp seven-spice
- • 1 tsp ground cumin
- • 4 tbsp olive oil + extra for tray
- • 1 tbsp Peashoots (Crysp), to garnish
- • Greek yogurt & salad, to serve
Instructions
Soak the Bulgur
Place the fine bulgur in a bowl, cover with cold water just to submerge by 1cm. Leave 20 minutes. The grains will plump and soften completely. Drain in a sieve, then squeeze out excess water firmly with your hands. The bulgur should be moist but not wet.
Cook the Filling First
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over medium. Add the diced onions, cook 6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the lamb mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook 8 minutes until no longer pink and the moisture has evaporated. Stir in seven-spice, cumin, salt and pepper. Add the pine nuts, cook 2 minutes more until the nuts are golden. Off the heat, stir in the chopped parsley. Set aside to cool slightly.
Make the Bulgur-Lamb Dough
In a food processor, blitz the squeezed bulgur, lamb mince, grated onion, all the spices, salt and pepper until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough that holds together. About 30 seconds in 2 batches. Tip into a bowl. The mixture should be smooth, evenly mixed, holding together when pressed but still slightly tacky. If too dry, add 1 tbsp ice water and pulse again.
Layer the Tray
Brush a 28cm round or rectangular baking tray (3cm deep) with olive oil. Wet your hands with cold water (the dough is sticky). Press half the bulgur-lamb dough into the bottom of the tray in an even layer 1 to 1.5cm thick, smoothing the surface flat. Spread the cooled filling evenly across this layer, edge to edge. Take the second half of bulgur-lamb dough, flatten it between wet hands into pieces, and press across the top, sealing the edges to the bottom layer. Smooth the top flat with wet hands. The total tray should be about 4 to 5cm deep.
Score the Diamonds
Using a sharp knife, score the top of the kibbeh in a diamond pattern. First make parallel cuts 4cm apart across one direction, then make a second set of parallel cuts at a 45-degree angle to the first, creating diamond shapes. Cut all the way through to the bottom of the tray, this is what allows you to lift each diamond out cleanly after baking. Press a single pine nut decoratively into the centre of each diamond if you have spare nuts.
Drizzle and Bake
Drizzle 4 tbsp of olive oil generously across the top, getting into the score lines. The oil is what crisps the surface and prevents the kibbeh from drying out. Bake at 200°C for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is deep golden brown, the edges have pulled away from the tray, and the kibbeh feels firm when pressed gently in the centre.
Rest, Lift, Serve
Take the tray out of the oven, let it rest 10 minutes, this firms up the layers and makes the diamonds easier to lift out. Pile peashoots in the centre of the tray as a fresh contrast to the deep brown surface. Use a small spatula to lift the diamond pieces out one at a time onto plates. Serve warm with a generous bowl of cold Greek yogurt for dipping, a simple salad of sliced tomato and cucumber on the side, and warm flatbread.
The Tradition
Kibbeh is the most important dish in Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi cuisine, with dozens of variations: kibbeh nayeh (raw), kibbeh maklieh (fried football-shaped), kibbeh labanieh (in yogurt sauce), and kibbeh bil sanieh (the tray version). The bulgur-and-meat technique dates back to medieval Levantine cooking, and the dish appears in 13th century Damascus food texts. The diamond scoring is functional, it lets each portion lift cleanly without breaking the layers, but it became aesthetic over the centuries, signalling a properly made kibbeh. In Lebanese homes, kibbeh bil sanieh is the Sunday lunch dish, the centrepiece that arrives at the table whole and gets eaten down to the last diamond. Restaurants across Beirut, Damascus and Aleppo all serve it daily, and it travels well to Lebanese diaspora kitchens from Detroit to Dubai.
💡 Pro Tip: Use very lean lamb mince (5 to 7% fat maximum) for the bulgur-lamb shell. Higher-fat mince makes the shell layer greasy and prevents it from binding properly with the bulgur. The filling layer can use slightly fattier mince (10 to 15%) because that fat is what makes the centre rich and juicy. Two different fat ratios for the two layers is the professional Lebanese trick that home cooks usually skip.