Kibbeh labaniyeh: Lebanese meatballs to start a new year

Barbara Massaad, an award-winning cookbook author and food consultant from Lebanon, shares a recipe for kibbeh labaniyeh in her latest cookbook, Forever Beirut. Kibbeh labaniyeh is a traditional Lebanese dish consisting of meatballs in a thick mint yoghurt sauce, typically served on New Year's Day. According to Massaad, this dish is the epitome of comfort food, so much so that she often finds herself repeating its name multiple times during meals.

Massaad's cookbook, Forever Beirut, is a compilation of significant everyday recipes from Lebanese households. In Lebanon, preparing meals for the family, particularly for children returning from school, is a priority for women. This holds true even for working women, who often prepare meals early in the morning or the night before.

Forever Beirut is dedicated to the victims of the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, a tragic event that resulted in the deaths of over 200 people. Massaad views cooking as an art form and a means of expression. Following the explosion, she felt compelled to write a cookbook as a way to cope with the difficult period. Including the recipe for kibbeh labaniyeh in the book was an obvious choice for her.