This type of kubba is typical of Mosul, where wheat is the common ingredient. This is an easy dish to make, plus it can last for a few days. Make it for a party, and serve a slice for an appetizer, or eat it a few nights in a row.

2 T grated onion
1 ½ cups bulgur
3 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 handful asparagus, trimmed
½ lemon
½ lb ground chicken thigh meat
3 T Parmesan cheese
¼ cup pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Set a pot of water to a rolling boil, and season it well.
Slice the asparagus into small little circles, so that they are not overwhelming in comparison to the meat or the bulgur.
Pour them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then drain.
Heat up about 2 T of olive oil in a pot, and gently fry the grated onion until it is translucent. Tip in the bulgur, stir, and pour over the water. Season with salt and bring the water to a boil.
Once the water comes to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, and cook covered until the water is absorbed.
Cool the bulgur once it is cooked. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, and check the seasoning.
Toss the meat with the blanched asparagus, pine nuts, juice from the lemon, and season it well.
Line the bottom of a cake pan with olive oil.
Plant a layer of bulgur on the bottom, allowing some of them to stick together.
Pat it down nicely.
Next, add the layer of meat, and distribute everything evenly.
Layer the rest of the bulgur on top of the meat. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle some water on top.
Bake the kubba covered with aluminum foil for 10 minutes.
Remove the foil and reduce the oven temperature to 375˚F. Finish baking the kubba uncovered for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned nicely.
Enjoy!

2 T ghee
1 chicken, quartered
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, finely diced
2 T Ethiopian Berbere spice mix*
2 T all purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
3 cups hot chicken stock
1 head of cauliflower, base cut out, and cut into florets
1 big yam, peeled and chopped

Heat up the ghee in a cast iron pot.
Starting skin side down, brown the chicken pieces on all sides in the hot ghee.
Transfer to a cutting board.
Saute the onion and garlic in the same ghee.
Once the onion has softened, add the berbere spice mix, and stir. Next, add the flour and cook down for 2-3 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
Transfer the sauteed chicken back to the pot, and pour in the wine. Let the wine simmer down for a few minutes, and then pour over the hot chicken stock.
Once the stew has come to a boil, add the chopped vegetables, and lower heat to a simmer.
Let simmer covered for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove chicken skins and serve over injera or warm pita bread.
Serves 4 people.

*Berbere is an Ethiopian spice blend that can be bought at Middle Eastern grocery stores. It combines dried ginger, turmeric, red pepper, fenugreek, and more.
Kalustyan's sells it both online and in their store.

To make a simplified version at home, combine the following:
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. cardamom
2 cloves
2 tsp. fenugreek
¼ tsp. ginger
2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. turmeric
1/8 ground cinnamon
1 tsp. cumin

Blend the spices in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

For the Sofrito base:
1 tomato
1 onion
½ red pepper
½ green pepper
½ Anaheim pepper
3 cloves garlic
Some olive oil, about a glug or two
Salt

For the Asopao:
¼ cup brown rice
1 sweet potato
1 yauti­a or taro, cut in half
1 piece of yucca, cut in half
1 ½ cups cubed butternut squash
1 whole chicken, cut in half or quarters
4 liters of water
3 limes
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste

Soak the brown rice in a bowl of water.
Blend together the ingredients for the sofrito. Traditionally, this base calls for pork fat and salt, but we just use olive oil to keep it light. You can add as much or as little salt as you like.
You will use about ½ cup of sofrito in this recipe, and then save the rest in the fridge for other fun Puerto Rican recipes.
Peel all of the root vegetables and squash, then cut them into cubes. You can use about half of a yucca and a taro, but just adjust the water level if you choose to use the whole thing. I find that it is just too much root vegetable in the pot.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot.
Pour in about ½ cup of sofrito and simmer. You can add a bit more salt at this point.
Add in the chicken pieces and let them cook with the hot sofrito for a few minutes, until they start to brown.
Pour in the water and add the yucca, sweet potato, and yauti­a to the pot.
Bring the water to a boil, and then simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Once 40 minutes have passed, transfer the chicken to a cutting board, and when it is cool enough to handle, take off the skin. You can remove the meat from the bones, but I like to keep some attached to the bone for more flavor.
Drain the rice from its soaking liquid and add it into the pot, along with the butternut squash, lime juice, tomato paste, and peeled chicken. Return the contents to a simmer for 45 more minutes, or until everything is cooked through.
At this point you can also use a fork to smush the butternut squash pieces against the sides of the pot and thicken the sauce.

Garnish with cilantro, lime, and avocado.