Kubbeh soups may be the highlight of the Iraqi cuisine. My grandmother used to make the dumplings in different sauces, or soups, depending on the time of the year. Okra and tomato in the summer, pumpkin in the winter. But the beet soup, with beet greens (or Swiss chard) and tomato, may be my favorite.
The dumplings in this recipe are actually more of the Kurdish kind, meaning they’re made with both farina and bulgar. The Iraqi dumplings are made using farina only, and are very delicate and hard to assemble at first. I thought the Kurdish may be easier recipe to start with. I may add the Iraqi version later….
As a bonus, a vegan filling option is included, making the dish a full vegan meal.
Watch the video bellow for a full demo of this (slightly co plicated) dish. start at minute 14:44.
Iraqi-Kurdish kubbeh (beef stuffed dumplings) in beet soup
Course: Main course, SoupsCuisine: IraqiDifficulty: Difficult6
servings45
minutes40
minutes1
hour25
minutesINGREDIENTS
- For the soup
3-4 medium sized beets, greens included if possible
5-8 leaves Swiss chard (if beet greens are not available)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoon tomato paste
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced
8 cups chicken stock or vegan chicken-flavored stock
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil to drizzle
- For the kubbeh shell
1½ cups fine (regular) bulgar
1½ cups water
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ cups farina
- For the filling
¾ lb. beef chuck
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, skin on
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon dried mint
Pinch nutmeg
- For a vegan filling (optional)
¾ lb. meatless ground beef
¾ teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 minced garlic clove
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon dried mint
Pinch nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
- Start with the filling
- Salt and pepper beef chuck on both sides. Put a small saucepan on medium-high heat, add oil, and sear chuck on both sides for about 6 minutes. Add water just to cover, then add garlic cloves around the chuck. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover pot and cook for 2 ½ hours, or until beef is very tender and falling apart. You can do that a day ahead.
- Pull the beef chuck apart or use a knife to chop it. Put in a medium bowl, squeeze cooked garlic cloves out of their skin and add to beef, together with cilantro, Minch and nutmeg. Mix and adjust salt to taste. Set aside.
- For the vegan filling, simply mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Make the shell
- Put bulgar in a fine sieve and wash with water for 60 seconds. Put in a bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, add 1½ cups water and salt, mix, cover bowl with towel and set aside for 15 minutes for the bulgar to absorb the water.
- After 15 minutes, add farina. Mix in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook for 5 minutes, scrapping the sides of the bowl as needed, to create a soft dough. If it seems too dry, add a little water, if it’s too watery, add a little more farina. Cover bowl with towel and set aside.
- Start making the soup
- Separate green parts of beet leaves of Swiss chard from their stalks. Finely slice stalk, set aside. Slice green parts and keep them separately. Peel and half beets, then slice into thin slices.
- In a large, preferably wide pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, leave stalks and sauté for 5 minutes. Add sliced beets, tomato paste and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add greens to pot together with stock, lemon juice, mint, sugar, salt. Bring to boil, then lower heat, cover pot and continue to cook as you make the kubbeh.
- Spray a baking sheet with oil. Fill a small bowl with water and put it next to the dough mixture and the filling.
- Wet your hands and spoon a 1.5” ball of dough into your palm. Flatten the dough in your hand, then put a spoonful of the filling inside. Using your other hand, pinch the dough around the filling to completely cover it, roll the covered meatball in your hands to make sure it’s round and not ripped (you can close any hole in the dough by adding a little more dough from the bowl). Then flatten the ball into a disk and put on the greased baking sheet. Repeat with four more kubbeh.
- Taste soup and adjust salt and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium and gently add 5 kubbeh into the soup, make sure they do not touch each other. Keep soup on low simmer as you prepare the rest of the kubbeh, 5 at a time, and adding to the soup.
- When all kubbeh are in the soup, cover pot and lower the heat and cook on low simmer for 40 minutes, shaking pot occasionally, to prevent from kubbeh to get stuck to one another.
- Serve in large bowls with a drizzle of olive oil.
I made the soup and the kibbeh today and it was superb. Everyone in the family thought it was very tasty and filling. It was colorful and flavorful. I cubed the beets which made it a nice texture and I found the noodle and rice mixture, as mentioned in the video. The rice/noodle recipe was the one my mother and grandmother made (I forgot) when growing up. I make it with angel hair pasta because I can’t get the egg noodles in my location. That added a nice touch to the soup and dumplings. The presentation was beautiful and it was just perfect for our zoom Shabbos dinner with friends. Not only will I make it again, but my friends have already received the email with the link because I know they would also enjoy the entree soup.
That’s just wonderful! thanks so much for sharing!
And now have your site and they love it too
xox