Kofte

Ingredients

Meat

• 700 gbeef or lamb mince, with about 20 percent fat
• or a mixture of both

Binder

• 2 slicesstale white bread, crusts off, soaked and squeezed
• or 3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs

Aromatics

• 1large onion, grated and squeezed dry
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano or thyme
• 1 tsppul biber
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tbspchopped parsley

To serve

• grilled long green peppers and tomatoes
• raw onion tossed with sumac and parsley
• flatbread
• ayran

Sometimes

• piyaz, white bean salad
• rice or bulgur pilaf

Directions

1. Use mince with about a fifth fat, and have the butcher grind shoulder or a fatty cut rather than using lean mince. Lean mince gives dry crumbly köfte, since the fat is both the moisture and much of the flavour.
2. Grate the onion rather than chopping it, then squeeze the pulp hard in a cloth to remove the juice. Onion water makes the mixture wet and slack, and it will spread and fall apart on the grill. Soak the stale bread in water or milk, then squeeze it out thoroughly and crumble it in. Bread holds moisture inside the köfte and keeps it tender, doing a job that breadcrumbs alone do less well.
3. Squeeze it genuinely dry, since a soggy binder undoes the point of squeezing the onion. Mix everything and then knead it hard with your hands for a full five to ten minutes. Press, fold and slap the mixture against the side of the bowl rather than gently stirring. It is ready when the mixture clings to your palm when you turn your hand upside down.
4. Cover the mixture and refrigerate it for at least two hours, and overnight is better. Now shape them with wet hands. Roll portions into balls, then flatten them into ovals about a centimetre and a half thick.
5. Press a slight dip into the middle of each with your thumb. That dimple stops the centre swelling into a dome as the meat contracts, so they cook evenly and stay flat. Keep them a uniform thickness so they cook at the same rate. Now the grilling, over charcoal if at all possible. Let the charcoal burn down to glowing embers with no flames before cooking.
6. Cook them for four to five minutes a side over a medium-hot fire. Do not press them with a spatula, which squeezes out the fat that is keeping them juicy. Turn them only once, and only when they release cleanly from the grill. They should be well coloured outside and just cooked through, since overcooked köfte go dry very quickly.
7. Let them rest for a couple of minutes off the heat before serving. Serve with grilled long green peppers and tomatoes, blistered over the same fire. Serve raw onion tossed with sumac and parsley, which is standard at every köfteci and cuts the richness.

Technique

• There are dozens of named regional styles across Turkey.
• Bread as a binder distinguishes it from Lebanese kafta.
• The mixture must be kneaded hard and rested for hours.

Substitutions

• Beef, lamb or a mixture, according to region.
• Fine breadcrumbs in place of soaked bread.

Variations

• İnegöl köfte, unspiced and bound with bread.
• Akçaabat köfte, with lamb and plenty of garlic.
• Sulu köfte, simmered in broth with vegetables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kofte?

Kofte is a main from Turkey: grilled minced-meat patties with onion and spices; countless regional styles.

How long does Kofte take to make?

Kofte takes 30 min plus 2 hr chilling of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kofte?

Yes, within limits. Beef, lamb or a mixture, according to region. Fine breadcrumbs in place of soaked bread.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kofte?

Use mince with about a fifth fat, and have the butcher grind shoulder or a fatty cut rather than using lean mince. Lean mince gives dry crumbly köfte, since the fat is both the moisture and much of the flavour.