In Egypt this is the favorite kebab. It is also mine. I love the soft, moist texture of the meat, and the flavors of parsley and onion. The traditional way of preparing it is to chop all the main ingredients by hand, then to chop them together. They still do this in restaurants (where it is called kofta kebab or kofta alla shish)—but you can achieve good results with the blade of the food processor if you do each ingredient separately. For a moist, juicy kofta you need a good amount of fat. Most of it will melt away in the heat of the broiler. You will need skewers with a wide, thick blade to hold the ground meat and prevent it from rolling around. If you find it difficult, you can always shape the meat into burgers.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the meat in chunks, then blend in the food processor to a soft paste, adding salt and pepper. Put it in a bowl with the parsley and the onion-drained of juices—and knead well with your hand until well blended.
Step 2
Divide the meat into 8 balls and wrap each one around a skewer, pressing firmly so that it holds together in a long, flat sausage shape. Place the skewers on an oiled grill over a fire, or on a rack under the broiler, and cook for 5–8 minutes, turning over once or more, until lightly browned.
Step 3
Serve with warmed pita bread or on top of those very thin Arab flatbreads or with rice or bulgur.
Accompaniments
Step 4
Slice 1 large onion thinly and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave for 30 minutes, until the juices run out and it loses its strong flavor. Then rinse and drain and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sumac.
Step 5
Serve on a bed of chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint mixed with 1 thinly sliced onion and sprinkled with 1 tablespoon sumac.
Step 6
Serve with chopped flat-leaf parsley and diced lemon (the lemon is peeled and cut into tiny cubes).
Step 7
Serve with 8 or more broiled cherry tomatoes.
Step 8
Roast 4 long, mild green peppers (you find them in Middle Eastern stores) until softened.
Step 9
In Turkey they serve kofta kebab on a bed of yogurt beaten with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and chopped parsley and mint, and topped with chopped tomatoes.
Variations
Step 10
Use chopped fresh mint as well as parsley.
Step 11
Add to the meat mixture 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon allspice.
Step 12
Add to the meat 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed.
Step 13
Add 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes or a pinch of chili pepper.
Step 14
Instead of pressing the meat on skewers, you can make it into hamburgers and grill them or cook them in a pan filmed lightly with oil.
Step 15
Cut long, thin eggplants into 1 1/2-inch slices and thread them in between lumps of kofta. The skin protects the flesh from drying out. This is a specialty of Aleppo.
