Baked Lamb Koftas with Peppers, Feta and Oregano
Noor Murad's tender lamb koftas are infused with fresh herbs and fragrant spices and are finished in the oven with roasted peppers, tomatoes, onion and feta. This colourful dish is layered with flavour and makes for an impressive dinner party centrepiece.
From the book
Lugma
Over 100 beautiful Middle Eastern recipes
From former Ottolenghi Test Kitchen lead chef, Noor Murad
Recipes with big, bold flavours that are as perfect for midweek cooking as they are for hosting
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Introduction
I adore koftas in all forms but especially done like this, where you don’t have to fry them separately and the onions and peppers form a deliciously rich base for the meat to sit in. I added panko to the mix here, which isn’t traditional but it does help keep the baked kofta nice and soft – leave this out if gluten free.
Ingredients
| 1 large | onion, peeled, halved and sliced into 0.5cm (¼in) half-moons (220g/7¾oz) |
| 1 medium | green (bell) pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1.5cm (5⁄8in) strips (150g/5½oz) |
| 1 medium | red (bell) pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1.5cm (5⁄8in) strips (150g/5½oz) |
| 1 tbsp | fresh thyme leaves |
| 3 tbsp | olive oil, plus extra for shaping |
| 1½ tsp | sweet paprika |
| 200g (7oz) | Datterini or cherry tomatoes |
| 150g (5½oz) | tomato passata (strained tomatoes) |
| 2 tbsp | apple cider vinegar |
| ¾ tbsp | maple syrup |
| 120g (4¼oz) | feta, broken into random large chunks |
| For the koftas: | |
|---|---|
| 500g (1lb 2oz) | minced (ground) lamb (15–20% fat) or beef (or a mixture of both) |
| 40g (1½oz) | panko breadcrumbs |
| 20g (¾oz) | parsley, leaves and soft stems finely chopped, plus an extra 1 tbsp to serve |
| 10g (¼oz) | oregano leaves, finely chopped, plus an extra 1 tbsp to serve |
| 3 cloves | garlic, crushed |
| 1 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| ¼ tsp | bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) |
| 1 (180g/6¼oz) | onion, halved |
| 1 large (130g/4¾oz) | ripe plum tomato |
| fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7.
First make the koftas. Add the meat, panko (if using), herbs, garlic, spices, bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of pepper to a large mixing bowl. Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the onion halves and then use your hands to squeeze out the excess liquid – you should get about 85g (3oz) of squeezed-out flesh. Add this to the bowl, then grate the tomato in the same way, straining off the juices through a sieve (strainer) to leave 70g (2½oz) pulp. Add to the bowl.
Pour a little oil into a small bowl and use oiled hands to knead the mixture very well for about 4 minutes. Set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the sliced onion, the red and green peppers, thyme, 2 tablespoons of the oil and ½ teaspoon salt to a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof sauté pan and mix to combine. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the onion and peppers are softened and browned in places. Carefully remove from the oven and turn up the temperature to 220°C fan/240°C/475°F/Gas mark 9.
Divide the meat mixture into 12 pieces, roughly 55–60g (2oz) each and, using oiled hands, form into torpedo-shaped koftas.
Stir the paprika and tomatoes into the pan with the peppers. In a jug, whisk together the passata, vinegar, maple syrup and ¼ teaspoon salt and pour this into the pan. Add the koftas, moving the peppers around them, then drizzle over the final tablespoon of oil. Return to the oven for 8 minutes, then turn each kofta over. Dot with the feta and bake for 12 minutes more, or until nicely browned and bubbling.
Sprinkle over the extra chopped herbs and serve directly from the pan.
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