Liver-Stuffed Kibbeh | Southeastern-Style Bulgur Shells with Liver Filling

Put the fine bulgur in a wide bowl, pour in enough hot water to cover it by about a finger’s width, stir, and cover. The bulgur should absorb all the water and soften enough to mash when pressed with a finger. Prepare the filling while it rests.

Remove the membrane and white tubes from the liver, cut it into half-centimeter cubes, rinse, and pat dry. Melt the butter and sauté the finely chopped onion until the edges begin to color. Add the liver and cook over high heat, stirring, until no liquid remains in the pan. Add the coarsely chopped walnuts, black pepper, red pepper flakes, allspice, and salt; stir 1 time, then remove from the heat. Spread the mixture on a wide tray to cool, then stir in the chopped parsley.

Add the semolina, flour, pepper paste, black pepper, and salt to the soaked bulgur. Knead by pressing and pushing the dough toward you with the heel of your hand; it needs to be pressed, not simply stirred, so the bulgur releases its starch and binds together. Continue until a piece stretches without cracking and the dough is as soft as an earlobe.

Take walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll them in your palm. Press your index finger into the center, then rotate the piece around your finger to form a thin, bowl-shaped shell with walls 2–3 mm thick. Fill it with one 5 ml measure of cooled filling. Wet your fingers to seal the opening, then shape it like a lemon.

Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170°C / 340°F; a bulgur grain should bubble immediately when dropped in. Add the kibbeh in small batches without letting them touch, and turn them as they fry. Remove them when the surface is dark brown and they rise to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a wire strainer; paper towels will soften the undersides.