Lamb Kofte and Tabbouleh

Main Serves 4 people Turkey

Popular all across the Middle East, these delicious, spiced meat kebabs are perfect stuffed into warm flatbreads. Don’t be surprised at the amount of parsley in this classic Middle Eastern dish. It is essentially a spiced parsley salad rather than a bulgur wheat one.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE LAMB KOFTE:
2 lb (900g) minced lamb
2 red onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

FOR THE TABBOULEH:
3 ½ oz (100g) bulgur wheat
13 ½ fl oz (400ml) water
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ oz (50g) fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
4 scallions (spring onions), chopped
1 lemon, juiced
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
Grating of nutmeg
Extra virgin olive oil



Step 1

Preheat the grill, or heat a griddle pan, and soak eight bamboo skewers in water.

Step 2

Place the minced lamb in a bowl with the chopped onion, crushed garlic, chilli flakes, cumin, parsley and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with clean hands.

Step 3

Split the mixture equally into 12 balls and squeeze them around the bamboo skewers to form rough sausage shapes.

Step 4

Brush with oil and grill or griddle until golden brown all over and completely cooked through.