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Turkish Meatballs with Lime Yogurt Sauce
There are many variations (and spellings) of kofta across the Middle East and North Africa, but essentially they’re seasoned patties, often made from ground lamb or a blend of beef and lamb. It’s the rest of the world’s answer to the Italian meatball. We particularly liked Turkish kofta, which sometimes are squashed flat and can be grilled, fried or even cooked on a skewer. We went with an all-beef version using 90 percent lean beef, though this recipe also works with a blend of lamb and beef. We pan-fried our patties, which gave us a deliciously crispy crust. To stop our meat mixture from getting tough in the middle we borrowed the French technique known as panade. It involves mixing a bread and dairy paste into the ground meat to bind it together and keep it moist during cooking. Since we already were serving pita bread with the patties, we used crumbled pita for our panade. We served the cooked patties in pita pockets with sliced tomato, cucumber, red onion and parsley. They also would be good over rice pilaf and served with a simple salad.
4
Servings
Don’t use stale bread for the meatballs. The fresh pita bread added light texture and fresh flavor that stale bread couldn't. Likewise, use whole-milk plain yogurt, not Greek-style to get the right consistency in both the meatballs and the sauce.
20 minutes
Plus cooling
For the meatballs
-
3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
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01In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the shallot, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano. Microwave until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then set aside to cool.
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GET DIGITAL & PRINTThese are terrific and a family favorite! The only thing I did differently was make the meatballs smaller and broil them (I am counting calories). My kids eat these with pita bread, my husband makes a lettuce wrap with them, and I eat them on salad greens. The dressing is nicely spiced and goes perfectly with the meatballs; it can also be used as a salad dressing.
Excellent flavor, especially with the mint leaves. Yogurt sauce is outstanding!