Middle Eastern Kofta
Ingredients
- ¼ cup each pine nuts almonds, and walnuts (total ¾ cup/90 g)
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped (see note)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, gently packed (okay to substitute parsley)
- 2 lb ground lamb (or 80% lean ground beef)
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- Tzatziki and hummus, for serving
Instructions
- Place the nuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until finely chopped but not pasty. Transfer the nuts to a small dry skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Pour the nuts into mixing bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, and set aside to cool. (Don't leave the nuts in the pan, as the residual heat may cause them to burn.)
- Place the onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro in the bowl of the food processor (no need to clean it first). Pulse until the vegetables are finely minced but not puréed. Set a fine sieve over a medium bowl. Transfer the minced vegetables to the sieve and use a rubber spatula to press out as much liquid as possible. Add the strained vegetable mixture to the bowl with the nuts.
- To the veggies and nuts, add the lamb (or beef), cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, salt, and white pepper. Using your hands, mash the mixture together until evenly combined.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Form the mixture into patties about 2 inches in diameter and ½-in (13-mm) thick (they will puff up on the grill to look like meatballs). Place on the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate until ready to cook.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.