There are so many delicious looking recipes in Jerusalem, so it was quite the hard to narrow my selection down to just five (and to be faithful to my resolution of only choosing new recipes – my go-tos already from Jerusalem include Baby Spinach Salad with Dates & Almonds and Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut Salad).
I am a big fan of quick meatballs made in the food processor and cooked in the oven and often shy away from cooking them in the fry pan (too messy and the cooking process is less reliable) but this recipe had me intrigued.
There was plenty to like about this dish. Wonderfully flavoured koftas spiked with pine nuts and a sauce that brought the recipe together.
I served the koftas with pita bread and a simple tomato and cucumber salad.
Mess factor: ***
Weeknight meal appropriateness: yes
Cook again: maybe
Kofta b’siniyah
Serves 6 (makes 18 kofta)
Jerusalem
150g light tahini paste
3 tbsp lemon juice
120 mL water
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp sunflower oil
sweet paprika, to garnish
salt
Kofta:
400g minced lamb
400g minced veal or beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
50g toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped, plus extra whole ones to garnish
1 large medium-hot red chilli, desseded and finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
Put all the kofta ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to mix everything together well. Now shape into long, torpedo-like fingers roughly 8cm long (about 60g each). Press the mix to compress it and ensure the kofta is tight and keeps it shape. Arrange on a plate and chill until you are ready to cook them, for up to one day.
Preheat the oven to 220°C. In a medium bowl whisk together the tahini paste, lemon juice, water, garlic an 1/4 teaspoon of salt. The sauce should be a bit runnier than honey; add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if needed.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and sear the kofta over a high heat; do this in batches so they are not cramped together. Sear them on all sides until golden brown, about 6 minutes for each batch. At this point they should be medium-rare. Lift out of the pan and arrange in an oven tray. If you want to cook them medium or well done, put the tray in the oven now for 2 – 4 minutes.
Spoon the tahini sauce around the kofta, so it covers the base of the tray. If you like, also drizzle some over the kofta but leave some of the meat exposed. Place in the oven for a minute or two, just to warm up the sauce a little.
Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and finally sprinkle some paprika on top. Serve at once.
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