fish kibe AKA kibe de peixe

This recipe comes from our new friend, Nagib. We just got to know him last week while he was in San Francisco for a conference. He knows our lovely friend, Omar, who we met through John last year. Small world: Omar is from Lebanon and Nagib is Brazilian of Lebanese descent. Apparently Nagib went to Lebanon on vacation and met Omar there.

Omar kept raving about Nagib’s cooking: Lebanese style with a Brazilian flair. So when Nagib finally got here, I couldn’t miss the chance to ask him for a favorite recipe or two. It turned out that one of his favorites is kibe (also quibe or kebbeh) which happens to be one of mine too!

John had a dinner party at his house on the weekend Nagib was in town. It was weirdcombinations themed! He made bacalhoada and fire-roasted asparagus with cilantro pesto. Wow! We’re famous 😉 I contributed with Nagib’s fish kibe as an appetizer. The food was fantastic and so was the company! You missed out, Omar!

fish kibe

1lb fine bulgur
1 lb ricotta cheese
1lb skinless, boneless dover sole (or other white flesh fish)
3 limes
1 white onion (sweet Vidalia)
½ cup mint leaves, chopped fine, and more
Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup pine nuts
Crushed red pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Soak bulgur in water for a couple of hours. After soaking, lay a kitchen towel at the bottom of your colander. Pour soaked bulgur over it. Using the towel, squeeze as much liquid out of the bulgur as possible. Transfer bulgur to a bowl.

Rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and juice of 1 lime. Set aside and let marinate for 5 minutes.

Place pine nuts in a skillet with some olive oil. Sauté them for a couple of minutes being careful not to burn them. Set aside in a bowl.

layering with pine nuts and ricotta

Transfer fish to food processor. Add peppers, cinnamon, 1/3 cup olive oil, about 1 tsp of kosher salt and mint. Pulse until fish turns into a thick paste. Add the bulgur to the food processor and pulse to mix. I had to do this in batches.

Oil a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with olive oil. Spread half of the fish bulgur mixture over the bottom of dish, making sure it is flat and even. Spread ricotta cheese over it. Sprinkle with pine nuts, more mint, pepper and salt. Cover with remaining fish bulgur mixture. Press into dish firmly to remove air bubbles.

I cut my kibe into rectangles before baking

Using a sharp knife cut kibe into your favorite geometrical shape (traditionally, squares or lozenges). To keep lines straight, rinse the knife in cold water between each cut. This will prevent it from breaking apart after its baked. Drizzle with olive oil.

Pre heat oven. In Brazil, ovens don’t have temperature marks like ours do in the U.S. There it’s just hot: medium, low or super hot. So I always struggle with baking Brazilian recipes here because I’ve no idea of the right way to convert baking temperatures and times.

This recipe calls for baking it in a ‘hot’ oven for 30 minutes covered in foil, then another 15 minutes without the foil to brown top. I decided that ‘hot’ was 350F but I was wrong! After the initial 45 minutes I baked it for another 15 minutes at 450F and then another 8 minutes more uncovered to brown! It worked, but how exasperating!

I’d recommend that you try to bake it at 450F from the start for 30 minutes covered with foil, then for 15 more minutes uncovered.

fish kibe fresh from the oven, yum!

It’s done when it’s brown. Let cool then gently remove from dish to serving platter. Garnish with lemon wedges and sprigs of mint. Yum!