Goat with Bulgur (Syrian Kibbeh Nayyeh)

Kibbeh nayyeh is said to have originated in the great northern Syrian city of Aleppo, one of the world's longest inhabited urban conglomerations, and surely one of the most beautiful and historic cities in southwest Asia. Made of finely ground raw meat mixed with bulgur, onions, mint, and spices, then drizzled with olive oil. Kibbeh nayyeh is a quintessential festive food of Syria. In the old days, the Lebanese and Syrians used to kill an animal on Sundays and on feast days. Raw meat was eaten immediately. Lebanese traditionally relied on that freshness to help guarantee the meat's safety. In the modern era, most of us don't eat meat from an animal that's just been slaughtered, but freshness remains key to good, safe raw kibbeh. Kibbeh nayyeh stands for "raw kibbe", kibbe being the patties made from ground meat, bulgur (cracked wheat) and spices. It is a rustic, authentic Lebanese dish of raw minced lamb. The secret to this much loved Lebanese dish is using only the freshest meat that is finely minced on the day, and it should be eaten the day it is made. Although there are some versions of the dish that are baked or fried (such as kibbeh raas, quipe, kubba halab, or kibbeh bil sinieh), others (like Kibbeh nayyeh) are prepared and served raw.

1 lb lean leg goat or lamb (without fat, frozen 2 weeks prior)
1 cup fine bulgur
1 scallion
⅓ green bell pepper
15 leaves fresh mint
10 leaves fresh marjoram (mardakoush)
½ tsp. 7 spices (Lebanese spice blend)
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Freeze meat for at least 2 weeks before working (to age it and help eliminate any contamination of raw meats).

Place frozen meat in the refrigerator for 1 hour and 30 minutes to thaw halfway.

When the meat is half thawed, place in a chopper with 5 large cubes of ice, ground cinnamon.

Chop it very thinly. Drain it and set aside in the refrigerator.

Place the bulgur in a small bowl and rinse with cold water. Then drain and squeeze very hard to remove as much water as possible. Set aside.

Finely chop the green bell pepper, mint, marjoram, scallion, salt, Cayenne pepper and 7 spices in a food processor and mix well. Set aside.

Place the minced meat in a large salad bowl and add the wet bulgur and the mixture of pepper and mixed spices, and mix well with the hands for 3 minutes.

Form a large patty with all the meat and flatten it by giving it the shape of the serving dish about 3" thick.

Using a knife or fingers, make decorative patterns on the top of the meat. Drizzle the olive oil over the entire surface of the meat. Sprinkle with slices of hot pepper, chives, pine nuts and a few mint leaves.

Serve immediately with pita bread.

Makes 8 servings.