A traditional Jerusalem dish, meatballs made with minced lamb and beef, served with a tahini sauce.
Kofta b’siniyah
Kofta b’siniyah is a traditional Jerusalem dish, celebrated by absolutely everyone – traditional Jews, fervent Christians, Palestinian eateries and funky fusion chefs. They are essentially a ‘Mama’ food: something simple, basic and familiar, yet loaded with memories and associations. Kofta are normally cooked at home and can be made in any shape: flat patties, thin fingers or torpedoes. They can be wrapped in vine leaves or other leaves.
Ingredients
- 400g minced lamb
- 400g minced veal or beef
- 150g onion, finely chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
- 50g toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped, plus extra whole ones to garnish
- 30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
- 1 large medium-hot red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp ground allspice
- ¾ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1½ tsp salt
For the sauce:
- 150g light tahini paste
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 medium clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 30g unsalted butter or ghee (optional)
- sweet paprika, to garnish
Directions
- Put all the kofta ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to mix everything together well. Now shape into long, torpedo-like fingers, roughly 8cm long (about 60g each). Press the mix to compress it and ensure the kofta is tight and keeps its shape. Arrange on a plate and chill until you are ready to cook them, for up to one day.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the tahini paste, lemon juice, 120ml water, garlic and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt. The sauce should be a bit runnier than honey; add one or two tablespoons of water if needed.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying-pan and sear the kofta over a high heat; do this in batches so they are not cramped together. Sear them on all sides until golden brown, about six minutes for each batch. At this point they should be medium-rare. Lift out of the pan and arrange on an oven tray. If you want them medium or well-done, put the tray in the oven for two to four minutes.
- Spoon the tahini sauce around the kofta, so it covers the base of the tray. If you like, also drizzle some over the kofta but leave some of the meat exposed. Place in the oven for a minute or two, just to warm up the sauce a little.
- Meanwhile, if you are using the butter, melt it in a small saucepan and allow it to brown a little, taking care that it doesn’t burn. Spoon the butter over the kofta as soon as they come out of the oven. Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and finally sprinkle some paprika on top. Serve at once.
- Hamish Anderson’s beer choice: Meantime London Pale Ale, Greenwich, London £1.85 (330ml), meantime.com. Meantime’s pale ale is not as aggressively hoppy as some and as such is a great food all-rounder. There is a gentle malty background to the beer which is a good contrast to chilli, before grassy, floral hops take over and deliver thirst-quenching refreshment.