This is Not Lamb Kofte

This is not lamb kofte, but it’s a very acceptable approximation.

The trick here is to press all the liquid out of the onions so that you are able to create one sticky mass that doesn’t fall off the skewer. The extra water will prevent the mixture from sticking together. (This is also made easier by using flat skewers, rather than bamboo ones or small round ones.) By the same token, if you don’t dry your parsley, you’ll run into the same issue, so you want fully dry it before mincing, and after you mince it you’ll ball it up in a paper towel and squeeze it as hard as you can. Finally, making the meat cold is a good way to get it sticky – if you’ve got time to chill it before you form it, you should do so.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground lamb
• ½ white onion, minced
• 1 large handful fresh parsley leaves, minced (this might be about a half a bunch of parsley, since I’ve got large hands)
• 1.5 TBSP ground cumin powder
• 1 TBSP ground coriander powder
• ½ TBSP ground cardamom powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Mince the onion and place in a fine mesh strainer. Press down with the back of a ladle to squeeze as much of the juice out as you can. Let rest and drip while you prepare the other ingredients.

Wash and dry the parsley, removing and reserving or discarding the stems. Mince the parsley very fine, place in a paper towel, and squeeze. Discard the paper towel.

Place lamb in a bowl, add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly with your finger tips. Do not overwork the meat.

Form into one long log around skewers, making sure that it is of equal thickness throughout. Alternatively, you can skewer flattened meatballs, or you can forget about skewers all together and just throw small, thin burger like patties directly on the grill.

I like to make a dipping sauce for these that consists of tahini, yogurt, water, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Play with the ratios until you get a nice consistency. You can also stuff these into pita sandwiches with tomato, cucumber (or pickle), and raw onion, tabouleh, whatever. Either way, after you’ve grilled them until they’re completely done but still juicy, serve at once and enjoy.