Whoa!!!... I cooked this last night for a friend who loves Lebanese food and she lurved it!!.. It's actually taken a few go's to get it right.. My love for Lebanese food goes back a bit... a friend of mine is Aussie Lebanese and moved to Beirut as a toddler. Her father's family had large orchards and a cannery that exported canned fruits all over the world, so they were very well off. When the Lebanese civil war broke out the going got tough for them as they were Christians and the Muslim extremists used to shoot the odd one here and there. She, at the tender age of fourteen and being the oldest cousin, would have to drive the other cousins etc to school. Her father gave her a pistol which she secreted between the console and drivers seat, if she was pulled over by a Muslim roadblock she was to shoot her way out (scary huh?). After a while her dad bribed the family's way out of Lebanon and they returned to Australia. I remember being blown away by some of the stories she regaled, especially the tale of how they were smuggled through the airport.. wow.. we are so lucky in this country.
This-girl-can-cook-Lebanese.. AMAZING!!.. and my favourite was her Kefta/Kofta. Whenever she threw a party it was a Lebanese feast and I was glued to the table tasting all of the meats and fresh salads etc... BEWDIFULLLLLL!!!
Oh.. btw.. after they did the bolt the Lebanese govt wouldn't let any of their money or possessions out of the country.. so her family that were left running the cannery would put wads of cash into plastic bags and seal them up in the cans of fruit and send it to Australia!!!... haha.. clever or what???
ANYWAY!!!!... the Kefta!!!.... My spin on a classic... Easy as and so yummy....I hope you enjoy.
Ingredients...
1 kilo beef mince... they reckon you should use 1/3rd lamb mince for moisture, but i'll show you a way to get the beef spot-on later.
1 and 1/2 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Allspice.. available in any stoopermarket.
1 tablespoon of Coriander Powder.
1 tablespoon of Cayanne Pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons of ground "granulated" Garlic...hint.
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
A handfull of chopped fresh flat leafed parsley.
Half a handfull of finely chopped fresh sage if you have it...separate the leaves and discard the stems...
A splash of Olive Oil.
A few grinds of Salt
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
(hint... the granulated garlic is good because the cooking time is quite short and you don't want raw garlic biting through. Buy it in the sachet packs in Coles or Woolies.. cheap.. I store it in a Moccona jar.. like all of my spices... just bang some in a mortar and pestle and grind it into a powder..)
okeedokie... chuck the mince in a bowl big enough to mix it roughly without struggling. Hoy in all of the spices, fresh herbs and whatever and begin to mix. Now, as I said before, I'll show you how to make the beef mince work. it's so much cheaper and you really don't need the lamb if you do it correctly. My mum showed me this method and some of you will already use it, I guess. Grab handfulls of the mince and make a tight fist, squishing the mince between your fingers. it makes worms..lol.. this breaks up the fat globules and keeps the meat smooth in texture as well as moist. Keep doing the squishy thing until your meat is pinkish. It doesn't take much and is well worth it.. by now all of your spices etc. will be well and truly blended into your mix... I always cook a test taster before skewering to make sure the mix is perfect... just grab a blob and make a little patty and cook in a hot pan... if it's a bit bland chuck in more salt at first.. taste again.. then maybe try more spices.. but usually it's the salt.
You can cook this as meat patty type rissoles or you can skewer it.. I prefer to skewer them as they present well and are good beer drinking tucker.. one hand on beer.. the other with a skewer..lol...
There's a trick to skewering them.. it works well.. grab 1/2 a handfull of mince.. roughly shape into a lump.. now skewer it through the middle lengthwise and gently squeeze it.. forcing the mince up the stick evenly..about the diameter of a 10 cent piece, as you work your way up the stick it will be evenly distributed and when cooked will stay firm on the stick.. cool!!...
Now cook em in an oiled pan or grill... they should be lightly browned and cooked though.. no pink bits..serve with a drizzle of Hommous, Yoghurt or lemon juice... easy peasy!!!!... NB:... If you wanna make it more substantial you can serve with salad on flatbread.. Hommous over the top and maybe some fresh yoghurt. Serve the skewers on the salad and allow the guests to unskewer the meat and roll up their own kebab... if there isn't too many guests I'll roll it and toast it in the toasted sandwich press.. authentic kebabs!!!
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