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Meat Filling

It is called sheikh el mahshi and also tatbila. The word sheikh implies that it is the grandest since it is all meat.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    to fill about 2 pounds of vegetables

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
12 ounces lean ground lamb or beef
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup pine nuts (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and fry gently until soft and transparent. Add the meat, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cinnamon or allspice, and stir, crushing the meat with a fork and turning it over, until it changes color. Moisten with a few tablespoons of water and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the meat is tender.

    Step 2

    Fry the pine nuts, if using, in a skillet in a drop of oil, shaking the skillet until lightly browned all over, and stir into the meat.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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