These delicious, small patties (or balls), Köfte Turkish Meatballs, are classic Middle Eastern cuisine at its best. You can substitute beef for the lamb, however, traditionally Köfte Turkish Meatballs are made with lamb meat.
(Photo Attributed to Author: E4024)
Köfte Turkish Meatballs Recipe-
Ingredients:
(Serves 4 to 6)
- 1 cup fine, freshly broken breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. lean ground lamb
- 1⁄2 tsp. salt
- 1⁄2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1⁄2 tsp. allspice
- 1 tsp. dried mint leaves
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Make your bread crumbs. Remove the crusts from 2 thick slices of whole wheat bread that is stale, but not dried out. Break up the pieces and place them into a food processor. Spin and pulse until completely broken down into fine crumbs.
- Now add in the egg and the ground lamb, and process until well blended.
- Next, add in the garlic, parsley and spices.
- Process some more until everything is well incorporated. Keep processing longer than necessary just to achieve a good blend – additional processing will help the meat have a fine texture.
- You can either roll the meat mixture into small balls (some people use an ice cream scoop) or into small, oblong and slightly flattened patties. Be sure to wet your hands before handling the meat, this will prevent it sticking to your fingers and palms.
- If you are not making your Köfte Turkish Meatballs to serve with an immediate meal, you can at this point cover them in a bowl and refrigerate them for several hours. They will even keep overnight for use the next day, although it would be best to place them in a Ziploc bag, squeeze all the air out, and reseal the bag before refrigerating.
- Heat the olive oil over medium high flame in a heavy-duty skillet, and fry the balls or patties until they are well cooked through and browned evenly all over. If you are making balls, you will want to roll them around as you cook. For patties, you just need to turn them over once.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked meatballs from the skillet and place them on a paper towel-lined platter to drain.
- Serve while still nice and hot, is my preferred choice, but some people prefer them just warm or even at room temperature as an appetizer.
- Köfte Turkish Meatballs are great with tahini or yogurt/cucumber sauce. Good side dishes are freshly cooked rice, sliced or quartered tomatoes, and mild peppers.
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