People love to hate on the intro copy of blog posts. JuSt giVe Me tHe ReCipE. I dOn’T nEed YouR liFe StOry. But guess what? Sometimes us bloggers hate it too. We’re the ones who have to write it, after all. Did it ever occur to you that we’d rather be doing something else, like, I don’t know, developing more recipes? This post is about lamb koftas. The recipe is below. But if I don’t write a bunch of stuff about them, the googles won’t show my post to people.
So let’s talk about lamb koftas.
Lamb koftas are a Middle Eastern preparation, made with minced meat, onion, garlic, and spices, and formed into patties of some shape. They are typically grilled, which I recommend doing – even better if over charcoal. Since I created these lamb koftas for a cooking class, I went with the broiler, which is essence is an upside down grill in terms of the direct heat component.
What will be lacking, however, is the smoky flavor you’d get from the grill. To add a little of that into the meat, I use smoked paprika, which isn’t a replacement for cooking over fire by any means, but adds a nice smoky element.
As far as shaping, any shape will do. They’ll taste great however you shape them, but when I shaped them into logs, they looked a bit too similar to dog poops. (narrator: They looked exactly like dog poops) I like to go with a flat oval with somewhat pointy tops and bottoms.
When the lamb koftas are cooked, the shape will soften a bit and they’ll shrink while getting a bit thicker, so keep that in mind while shaping them. Want to see this recipe in action, along with my 10 minute flatbread and green tahini? You can watch the replay of my cooking class here.
Make it a feast! The following recipes are a great addition to these lamb koftas:
PrintLamb Koftas (gluten-free, dairy-free)
juicy, quick to make, and packed with flavor, these lamb koftas are the perfect weeknight feast.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings
- Category: lamb
- Method: broil or grill
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 small handful cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free or regular)
- 1 pound ground lamb
for servings, optional:
- green tahini, lemon tahini, tzatziki, flatbreads, fresh herbs, lemon wedges, pomegranate arils… whatever sounds good to you!
Instructions
- Place a rack in your oven to the highest location and turn on your broiler. Alternately, if grilling, turn your grill on medium,-high.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse everything but the lamb (shallot, garlic, cilantro, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt, pomegranate molasses and bread crumbs) 6-8 times or until it’s a coarse paste.
- Add in the lamb and pulse about 8 or so times, until the ingredients are all homogeneous.
- Form into 8 patties, either in a log shape, or more of an oval and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for 5 minutes and then flip and broil for another 2-3 minutes. If grilling, grill 3-4 minutes on each side, or until just charred on the outsides and cooked through.
- Serve hot, with any or all of the items above.
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