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Lebanese Baked Kafta with Potatoes and Tomatoes
It’s easy to see why kafta bil sanieh, a casserole, if you will, of sliced potatoes, rounds of tomatoes and flavorful kafta (seasoned meatballs or meat patties), is Lebanese comfort food. The ingredients are shingled into a baking dish and baked until the flavors meld and the textures become deliciously succulent and tender. Our rendition, based on a recipe from “The Palestinian Table” by Reem Kassis, starts with a simple no-cook tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, where juices collect during baking and form a delicious sauce. To ensure the potatoes cook evenly and thoroughly, we precook them by roasting them for about 10 minutes, enough time to begin making the kafta. We especially like the flavor of ground lamb kafta, but if you prefer, use 80 percent lean ground beef instead. Serve with rice pilaf.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don’t overmix the meat mixture or the kafta will cook up with a firm, bouncy texture. Using a light hand when mixing and shaping will keep the kafta tender. The patties don’t need to be perfectly round, but do try to keep them about ¼ inch thick, as they’ll puff a little when baked. And if one or two (or a few) fall apart while you layer the ingredients into the baking dish, not to worry—gently smoosh the patties back together.
1½ hours
1 hour active, plus cooling
Ingredients
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1
pound Yukon Gold potatoes, not peeled, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
-
2
tablespoons plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Directions
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01Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the middle position. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Distribute in a single layer and roast without stirring just until a skewer inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance, 10 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Leave the oven on.
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May 21, 2023
So delicious!
This wonderful, easy on the eyes and great flavor.
October 24, 2022
Simple and delicious
We made this with fresh garden produce and like other reviewers, I reduced the olive oil, just drizzled some on top. It was so tender and flavorful! Sauteed some small red chili slices for extra heat and served those on the side. Will make again.
May 27, 2023
Rich flavors but not roast-y like the photo
I did make this with lamb, and I found that one pound of Roma tomatoes was too much. I layered the contents per the recipe and only needed about 2/3 of a lb of Romas. The results were soupy, not like the photo, with so much crushed tomato as the base, but delicious. I roasted extra garlic cloves(4) with the potatoes and stirred the roasted garlic, mashed, into the crushed tomatoes because I don't like raw garlic. I cut back on the olive oil to drizzle. (FYI: drain the liquid out of the grated onion. Super wet.) Excellent flavors but not the crusty, speckled roast portrayed in the photo.
October 11, 2022
Delicious
This was a tasty recipe. I used lamb instead of beef and used pasilla chiles instead of bell peppers. It turned out great and my husband, who is not the biggest lamb fan, thought it was delicious. The only other change from next time is to reduce the 1/4 of olive oil in the sauce to 2 tablespoons as the lamb added juices and fat to the sauce.
August 31, 2023
Assemble
Can you assemble the traybake the day before?
Instead of mixing the single spices, I just used a Garam Masala mix I have, and I think it worked great. BTW, my mix only has the following ingredients: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and coriander. To my taste, allspice is close enough to clove (though not in the same proportion) that I think the substitution works.
In the ingredients list, it states: "1 medium yellow onion, halved and grated...". Do you mean to grate and use only half of the onion (which I would have worded as: "1/2 medium yellow onion, grated..."), or to halve, grate, and use the whole onion? Thank you!
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This was really good. Somehow, it was exactly the right amount of everything to have 4 neat rows in the baking dish. I actually used a smaller baking dish because the 9x13'' one was already in use, but it all fit anyway! I was at first skeptical about the amount of tomato sauce, but I followed the instructions, and it was great. I served it with garlic tahini sauce, by the way - it was a great combo, IMO.