Kofte kebab
This Turkish kebab dish, from Claudia Roden’s wonderful book Arabesque, is very simple to make but you need to be organised and assemble the dish at the last minute so the layer of crunchy pitta bread at the bottom of the dish stays crisp. Claudia’s tips are to serve the tomato sauce and meat very hot but the yoghurt at room temperature.
Yogurtlu Köfte Kebabi or Turkish Kofte Kebab with Tomato Sauce & Yoghurt – serves 4
- 2 pitta breads
- 750g minced beef or lamb
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 50g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sumac plus an extra pinch
- 500g full-fat natural yogurt
- 2 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp pine nuts
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 chilli pepper, seeded and chopped
- 750g tomatoes, peeled and chopped (if it’s not tomato season use the equivalent of good quality tinned tomatoes instead)
- 1-2 tsp sugar
Start with the tomato sauce. Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the garlic and chilli pepper, and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt, pepper and sugar, and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until they soften.
Open out the pitta breads, toast until crisp, then break into small pieces with your hands.
Next make the kofte kebabs. Season the mince with salt and pepper, and use your hands to work into a soft dough. Add the onion and parsley and work into the meat. Shape into sausages, about 2cm thick and 7cm long. Arrange on an oiled sheet of foil on a baking sheet and cook for about 8 minutes under a pre-heated grill, turning once, until well browned but still pink and moist on the inside. Or if you prefer (as we do) you can grill on a barbecue.
Spread the toasted pitta pieces over the bottom of your serving dish and sprinkle over a pinch of sumac. Pour the hot tomato sauce all over and top with a layer of yoghurt beaten with a fork.
Heat the butter or oil with the pine nuts and stir in the teaspoon of sumac. When the butter or oil sizzles, sprinkle all over the yoghurt, arrange the meat on top and serve immediately.
(Original recipe from Claudia Roden’s Arabesque, Michael Joseph, 2005.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 