Kofta Meshweya

I'm so excited to finally be able to say that I've cooked my first recipe out of the Penguin Great Food series!

More importantly, it was easy and tasty to boot. And it's meat on a stick! You can't go wrong with food on sticks.

Unfortunately I was so focused on eating that I didn't bother to get a very good picture of the dish.

My apologies.

The pea green stuff is a batch of fava bean hummus I attempted. I don't think that particular recipe is ready for publishing yet, so let's return to meat on a stick.

This recipe comes from A Middle Eastern Feast. Author Claudia Roden says of this recipe:

"Each country and each area in the Middle East has its favourite flavourings for kofta. Here is a basic recipe, giving a few simple alternative seasonings. Use fat meat to keep it moist and juicy. If you find it difficult to put the meat on skewers, make it into burgers."

Kofta Meshweya


(from A Middle Eastern Feast)


Ingredients

1 lb beef, lamb or a mixture of the two
1 small onion, grated
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Place meat in a large bowl. Squeeze onion to remove excess liquid and add to bowl along with seasonings. Knead meat until it becomes paste like. Divide into 4 even balls. Shape balls into oblong shapes and run a skewer through the center.

2. Oil a grill or grill pan well. Place skewers on pan and cook, about 5 minutes each side until cooked and browned on all sides. Serve with pita to catch the juices.