Kofta Burgers in Pita Bread

This tends to be a popular BBQ recipe in our house, the temperature this year is nowhere near being warm enough for a BBQ (at least not in my little corner of England) but I’m kind of hoping that it’ll warm up soon.  Obviously you don’t have to wait for the sun, just pop them under the grill instead.

Lots of recipes use egg or breadcrumbs with the meat to bind it.  There’s really no need, just add a sprinkle of salt to the meat, make the burgers and pop them in the fridge for a couple of hours and they’ll hold together wonderfully.  I don’t really know the ins and outs behind it all but the salt causes some sort of reaction in the meat which causes it to bind.

You can use either beef or lamb for this recipe, if you’re using lamb try adding some freshly chopped mint to the burger and perhaps serve with a minted yoghurt.

Kofta Burgers in Pita Bread
Makes 4 Burgers

500g minced beef or lamb1 small onion
2 tsp Ras El Hanout (see my recipe for the spice mix HERE)
A good pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 pita breads

Method

Finely chop the onion and fry until soft.

Mix the onion, spices, pepper and salt into the minced meat.

Form the meat into a large meat ball and separate into evenly sized quarters.

Shape the meat into four burgers, cover and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours (they will happily keep in the fridge for a few days as long as your meat was fresh to start with).

To cook, grill the burgers until cooked and serve in the pita breads with a salad.

Aubergine and Lamb Kofta Rolls

This is a lovely, versatile dish that can be a starter, main course or even be part of a finger buffet.  It can be served hot or cold and works wondrously well when served with couscous, salad or pita bread.

Many recipes use oil when grilling or frying aubergines.  I like to cook them dry, aubergines are like sponges and love to soak up any oil that they’re cooked in which can leave them greasy.  Cooking the dry avoids the greasiness and also keeps the calories down.  If you did want a little extra flavour from some olive oil, you can always drizzle near to the end of cooking.  I personally don’t see the need.

Aubergine and Lamb Kofta Rolls

Ingredients

1 good sized aubergine
500g minced lamb
2 tsp Ras El Hanout (see my recipe for the spice mix HERE)
1 tsp harissa (see my harissa recipe HERE)
Fresh mint
1 tin chopped tomatoes

Method

Slice the aubergine long ways into thin slices.

Heat a griddle pan or grill and cook the aubergine slices, turning every minute or so until soft and set aside.

To make the koftas, mix the lamb with the ras el hanout and some finely chopped mint.

Mould the kofta mixture into sausage shapes and thread onto skewers.  Grill the koftas until cooked through.

Take the koftas off the skewers and wrap each one an aubergine slice.

In a separate, wide based pan, mix the tomatoes and harissa.

Bring the tomatoes to the boil, add the aubergine rolls, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Garnish with the remaining mint and serve with couscous or salad.

Shepherd’s Pie, North African Style Served with a Mint Salad

Here’s a little something that I came up with a few weeks ago when playing around with a few things in my kitchen.  It’s the old English favourite, Shepherd’s Pie but given a bit of a North African face lift.  The lamb is flavoured using harissa and uses sweet potatoes for the topping.  Feel free and change the amount of harissa to suit your own taste.

Shepherd’s Pie, North African style
Serves 4

500g Minced Lamb3 Sweet Potatoes
A handful of raisins (soaked for an hour or two)
3 tbsp harissa
200ml vegetable stock
knob of butter and splash of milk for the mash

For the salad

2 tbsp chopped, fresh mint
1\2 chopped cucumber
Mixed leaves
Olive oil
Juice of a lemon

Method

Brown the mince in a pan, drain and then set aside.

Dice the sweet potatoes and steam for about 15 minutes or until soft.

Mash the sweet potatoes with the milk and butter until smooth.  Season to taste.

Transfer the mince into a casserole dish and mix in the stock and harissa.

Top the meat mixture with the mashed sweet potato.

Cook in a medium (gas mark 4, 180C, 350F) for 20 minutes.

While the pie is cooking, make the salad.  Mix the leaves, mint and cucumber with a drizzle of the olive oil and sprinkle with the lemon juice.

Serve the pie warm not hot with the salad on the side.

Middle Eastern Moussaka

Moussaka is a very popular dish all over the Middle East, Greece, Turkey as well as into parts of Eastern Europe.  There are many different regional variations but all are usually based on grilled or fried aubergine, minced lamb and tomato (although some Eastern European variations use potatoes rather than aubergine and pork instead of lamb).  This recipe is for a more Middle Eastern styled moussaka rather than the Greek style that is far more common here in Britain.  The idea is similar except that this version doesn’t have the bechamel topping found on Greek moussaka and the lamb is more fragrantly spiced.

Middle Eastern Moussaka
Serves 4

Ingredients

500g lamb mince
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 large aubergines
1 large onion
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
a few sprigs of fresh, chopped mint
black pepper
salt

Method

Thinly slice the aubergines and grill or griddle until soft, turning occasionally.

Chop the onion and fry until just beginning to soften.

Add the lamb to the onions and cook until browned.

Drain the fat from the meat and mix in the tomatoes and spices and about half the mint.  Season to taste with black pepper and salt.

Layer a casserole disk with half the aubergine, cover with the meat mixture and top with the rest of the aubergine.

Cook in a moderate oven (gas mark 4, 180C, 350F) for about an hour.

Garnish with the rest of the mint and serve warm with pita bread.