Lamb Kebabs or Kofte

Published on January 23, 2021 | By
Lamb Kebabs or Kofte

Sabrina Ghayour in her cookbook, “Persiana, Recipes from the Middle East and Beyond, ” describes these Turkish lamb kebabs or “kofte” as hailing from the city of Adana. They are just spicy enough and overflowing with flavor from the peppers and herbs that are paired with the lamb.

The traditional recipe for the lamb kebabs or kofte calls for Aleppo pepper. The Aleppo pepper is a dried red pepper used in Turkish and middle eastern cuisine. It is also known as the Halaby pepper. The pepper is usually dried, seeded, crushed and coarsely ground to make Aleppo pepper flakes. It is described as having an ancho chili like flavor but with more heat.
I did not have Aleppo pepper, so I substituted a mixture of sweet paprika and a pinch of cayenne. The pepper is used in middle eastern cooking to season meats, beans, and muhammara, a roasted red pepper dip.
These kofte are typically shaped around metal skewers and grilled. I shaped them into patties and grilled them along with an Indian flatbread that I served them on. You can also serve them on flour tortillas or stuff them into whole wheat pitas. Sabrina Ghayour recommends grilling the kebabs over coals and to avoid the hottest part of the grill. The Turkish kebabs are garnished with sliced red onions and parsley and topped off with a couple of dollops of Greek yogurt. You can wrap them up in the flatbread or pita or eat the kebabs or patties as an “open faced” main course.

I like serving these spicy lamb kebabs with my crispy smashed potatoes or lentils with roasted eggplant and tomatoes. 

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb, 2 ounces ground lamb
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped in a food processor
  • 3 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or 3 tsp sweet paprika with a pinch of cayenne
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 cup, packed, finely chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped red bell pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • vegetable oil if frying, about 2 TBSP
  • To serve: flour tortillas or a flatbread
  • sliced red onion
  • chopped parsley
  • Greek yogurt

Instructions

  1. Place the ground lamb in a bowl. Chop all vegetables finely by pulsing in the food processor. Add these chopped seasonings, herbs, and spices to the ground lamb and stir well to combine.
  2. Add the eggs and work the mixture with your hands until the texture of the meat has broken down.
  3. At this point, Sabrina Ghayour recommends either forming and molding the meat into a long sausage shape around a metal kebab skewer or shaping it into patties to grill or cook in a skillet.
  4. If you grill the meat on skewers, she recommends grilling over coals and to avoid the hottest part of the grill. Cook them about 8 minutes on each side until done. You can also cook them in a little vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until they are nicely charred.
  5. I placed the cooked patties on a grilled Indian flatbread, sprinkled a little chopped parsley and some sliced red onions over the patties and on the bread, and then topped it off with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
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