Mushroom and chestnut kibbeh

I already wrote a little about kibbeh/kubbe before, those delicious morsels consisting (usually) of a bulgar wheat shell encasing a filling, and then fried until crisp or cooked in a soup. Sometimes, as in the case of tray kibbeh it is based with the filling sandwiched between the bulgar wheat.
I found a box of chestnuts that I had bought some time before and then promptly forgotten about (actually, more correctly they got buried under a million cans of chick peas and shoved to the back of the cupboard). After a clean out I decided that I needed to use them, and I knew exactly what to make. Mushroom and chestnut kibbeh.

While it is not a traditional kibbeh filling, it is a combination that works wonderfully well together. I can't take credit for the idea though, as I first tasted them at the Arabica deli counter in Selfridges... Pricey, but oh so delicious.

Ingredients
200g bulgar wheat
100g semolina
2 tablespoons flour
1 tsp salt

For the filling
2 large portobello mushrooms
200g chestnuts
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp oregano
A splodge of harissa (optional)

1. Put the bulgar wheat in a bowl and cover with boiling water. You want it to be completely covered and leave to soak for 30-60 minutes
2. While the bulgar is soaking prepare the filling. Chop the mushrooms and fry in olive oil with the spices until softened, then stir in the chestnuts and cook for a few more minutes. Turn the heat up high and cook briefly until all the excess water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Tip onto a plate and let it cool
3. After the bulgar wheat has soaked, drain and squeeze out the excess water (a clean kitchen cloth is ideal for this). I couldn't get a hold of any fine bulgar wheat, so I mushed it up between my fingers to try and break down the grains at this point. Tastewise it makes not one bit of difference, but the fine bulgar does make for a slightly neater and prettier kubbeh
4. Mix in the semolina, flour and salt
5. Knead the dough for a few minutes, you'll notice that the dough tends to crack or crumble as it dries. Keep a bowl of water beside you as you work to dip your fingers in as you make the kibbeh shells
6. Take a lump of the dough (what size? Hmm... kibbeh size, bit bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball!) and roll it into a ball. Placing your thumb in the centre of the ball squeeze the sides out so as to make a cup-shaped receptacle for the filling. If the dough starts to crack or split dip your hands into water to moisten it. Question: how thin should your kibbeh walls be? Answer: as thin as possible! 
7. Add a spoonful (or as much as you reckon will fit) of the filling and gently pinch the sides together. If it looks like there will be some leakage, just pinch off some more dough to patch it up. Wet your fingers and roll into an oval shape (traditionally the ends are pinched so it's more of a torpedo shape)
8. Continue until you run out of either dough or filling. This amount should make around 10 kibbeh. As an aside, if you have any excess filling it is delicious spread on toast. If you don't want to cook all of the kibbeh you can also freeze them at this point
9. Now to cook. You kibbeh afficionados may have noticed my kibbeh look a bit weird. That is because I decided to bake them rather than the more traditional deep frying. How you cook them is up to personal preference. Mine were baked at around 200C for 30 minutes until crispy. If you were so inclined you could also drop them into a soup and simmer for 30 minutes. It's all good!