Kubbeh Hamusta

Kubbeh Hamusta

Hamusta is a sour green kubbeh soup that in Israel is identified with the Jewish-Kurdish cooking of Jerusalem. There are versions with rice and wild plants; here it is an easy-to-find semolina shell and a soup of chard, celery and zucchini suited to an Israeli kitchen.

Prep time: 1 hour · Cooking: 75 minutes · Yield: 24 kubbeh, 8 servings · Difficulty: challenging

A thin shell that doesn’t tear

Semolina keeps drinking water as it rests, so don’t fix a dry dough right away. After 20 minutes, pinch off a piece and open it with a wet hand: the edges should flex without cracking. A cold, fairly dry filling lets you close an even layer around it. If it’s your first time, make the kubbeh a little thicker and only later make them thinner.

Ingredients

• 600 grams semolina, 420–480 ml water and 2 teaspoons salt
• 700 grams 15% ground beef, 2 chopped onions, pepper and baharat
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 2 bunches chard, 6 celery stalks with their leaves, 3 zucchini
• 2 onions, 6 cloves garlic, 2 liters water
• 150 ml lemon juice, salt and pepper

Choosing ingredients and substitutes

Chard is an accessible substitute for the seasonal greens and wild arum (luf) documented in some versions; this is an explicit Israeli adaptation. You can fill with siska made from cooked, shredded shoulder meat. Don’t replace all the lemon with citric acid.

Method

1. Fry the onion in two tablespoons of oil, add the beef and break it up until browned; season and cool completely.
2. Mix the semolina, salt and 420 ml of water, wait 20 minutes and add water by the tablespoon until the dough is soft and doesn’t crack.
3. Form 24 balls, open each in a wet palm, fill with a spoonful of meat and close into a thick disc.
4. In a wide pot, fry the onion, celery, garlic and zucchini in the rest of the oil. Add the chard and water and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Add the lemon juice and salt, bring to a simmer and slide in the frozen or chilled kubbeh in batches. Cook for 40–45 minutes without stirring with a spoon; shake the pot.
6. Check one: the shell is soft and the meat has reached 71 degrees Celsius. Balance the lemon and salt.

Nutrition facts and calorie estimate

Variations and tips

• Freeze the kubbeh for 20 minutes before cooking to reduce tearing.
• Soup at a hard boil breaks the shell; keep a gentle simmer.
• Keeps for 4 days refrigerated, and the flavor improves the next day.

Summary

Good hamusta is tangy but not harsh, green and full. Three kubbeh and soup are about 590 calories. See kubbeh selek and Kurdish cuisine.