Last Saturday I made an extremely tasty Kofta kebab feast, served with some yummy mezze for myself and 3 guests. What are ‘Kofta’? These traditionally come from the meatball family and are usually made with mince meat, onions and delicious spices (cooked in many ways with various flavors all across the globe).

This meal was full of vibrant flavors, inspired from Greek, Turkish, many Middle Eastern countries and Moroccan cuisine (plus a hint of Indian spice too!). My feast included a delicate and cooling Greek inspired tzatziki, a zesty fresh homemade tabbouleh (Turkish/Lebanese favourite), some soft warm Moroccan flatbread and a smokey harissa spiced mayonnaise; plus some salty olives and juicy pomegranate, for a burst of sweet freshness.

So lets get started with the recipe……

Kofta Kebab Skewers (serves 4)

Lamb skewer

• 300g lamb mince
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 1 tbsp coriander
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 large tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cardamom
• ½ a finely diced onion
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Pork skewer

• 300g pork mince
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp cumin
• A pinch of all spice
• ½ a finely diced onion
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

(If you prefer, you can opt to have just 1 type of meat and just double all the ingredients for that skewer (i.e 600g lamb mince))

Firstly I soaked 8 wooden kebab skewers in water at the start of the meal prep, to let the wood absorb some of the moisture (this should help prevent burning when cooking). I also pre heated my fan oven to 160 degrees celcius and prepared all my fresh ingredients and spices ready to mix.

Once preparing the skewers and heating the oven, place the lamb mince in one large mixing bowl, and the pork mince in a separate one. Add in all the prepared ingredients for each type of skewer into each ones’ respective mixing bowl, and mix well. Make sure all the spices and herbs are mixed evenly throughout the meat.

For the lamb:- roll the mixed mince into little balls (around the size of a golf ball), and put 3 balls onto 4 wooden skewers.

For the pork:- roll the mixed mince into the equivalent of 3 little balls into 1 thick squashed ‘sausage’ like shape, and place 1 onto each of the 4 remaining wooden skewers.

Line 2 baking trays with foil or baking paper, and place the pork skewers one one and the lamb on another, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake the kebab skewers for 15 minutes in the oven to make sure the meat is around 90% cooked through.

After 15 minutes, take the trays out of the oven and turn on the grill to its highest setting (to heat up). Once the grill is hot and ready, place the trays into the grill and cook for another 5 minutes to give the meat a nicely char grilled look, and finish cooking the meat through.

When they are finished cooking there should be a lot of lovely meat juices in the bottom of the pan that can be reserved for serving later when the meal is plated and ready to eat.

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Tabbouleh

• 2 large bunches of parsley finely chopped (around 1 full cup)
• 2 round tomatoes finely diced
• 1 large red onion finely diced
• 100-150g cooked and cooled bulgar wheat (it depends if you prefer a lighter, more herby tabbouleh or a more filling one)

Dressing

• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 lime or lemon juiced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

To make the tabbouleh, you will need to cook the bulgar wheat first. To do this, you need to put the bulgar wheat in a sauce pan,  fill it up with cold water (about half full), and then bring it to the boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes on a lower heat. Once cooked, drain the hot water away in the sink, then briefly run the cold water tap over the cooked wheat to help it cool, and then drain using a sieve.

Now you will need to prepare the freshly chopped parsley, tomatoes and onion (you can add a handful of freshly chopped mint too if you like). Once prepared, place all the  chopped ingredients in a large bowl and mix.

Once the bulgar wheat has drained fully, add it to the large bowl. In a small bowl mix the dressing together, then add it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and mix well (to make sure all the ingredients are coated in the lovely zesty sauce).

Tzatziki

• 6 tbsp of natural yogurt (I actually used soya yogurt for mine – so perfect for you vegans!)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• The juice of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ a cucumber finely chopped and sliced
• 1 packet of mint finely chopped

It is very simple to make my lovely silky tzatziki! All you really need to do is chop and prepare the mint and cucumber, then mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Once it is nicely mixed, serve it in a lovely dish of your choice.

For my delicious dinner, I served my juicy spiced skewers, tabbouleh and tzatziki with a simple smokey spicy harissa mayonnaise (simply mix 2 tbsp of harissa with 5 tbsp of mayonnaise), some fresh sweet pomegranate, some yummy salty olives and soft Moroccan flatbreads (which I warmed up in the oven for 5 minutes before serving). Sometimes I even make some easy chickpea and tahini houmous or ‘hummus’, and serve that with the rest of the mezze as well.

This dinner is perfect when you have a few people over and want something delicious to share all together, that is also healthy, filling and full of flavour!

I hope you enjoy it, and please comment below if you make it and love it!

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 Love Kitchen Olivia xx