Recipe courtesy of Mardi Michels, eat. live. travel. write.
Easy beef koftas made with mushrooms to help “extend” the mixture a little further and add an extra serve of veggies! Served with minted yoghurt and a beet “slaw”
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 25 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Total time: 45 mins
Ingredients
200g mixed mushrooms
½ cup fresh cilantro
3 green onions
400g lean ground beef
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mild paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
For the yoghurt:
1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon fresh mint
For the “slaw”:
1 small carrot
1 small beet
½ cup grated cabbage
½ red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon (you might not need all the juice)
8 pita bread pockets
Directions
Make the kofta:
Soak 8 bamboo skewers in water (completely immersed).
Directions:
Place the mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Remove mushrooms from food processor and place in a large bowl. Place cilantro and green onions in the bowl of the food processor (no need to rinse it out). Process until finely chopped. Add the cilantro and green onion mixture to the mushrooms. Add the beef, ground coriander, cumin, paprika to the mushroom mixture. Now add the egg and breadcrumbs.
Mix with your hands until all ingredients are combined. Using your hands, take approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of the mixture and form a sausage-shape around a wooden skewer. Now place a second sausage-shape of the meat on the same skewer. The mixture will be a little softer to handle than straight ground beef but do your best! Repeat with remaining beef/ mushroom mixture until you have 8 skewers each with 2 sausage-shapes. Place on a platter, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Make the yoghurt:
Finely chop the fresh mint and stir into the yoghurt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Make the “slaw”:
Grate the carrot, beet, cabbage and red onion using a box grater. Combine with the lemon zest, olive oil and about ½ of the lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
To cook:
Pre-heat the BBQ to medium-high heat.
Grill the kofta skewers, turning occasionally, until cooked through (do not rely on touch for these – the mushrooms make them much softer than regular burger patties or similar – you will have to cut them open to see if they are done). Remove from the grill and let them rest as you organize all the other ingredients.
To assemble:
Split a pita pocket and place a spoon of the yoghurt in the bottom, then add 2 of the kofta, topped with some of the “slaw” and a dollop more yoghurt.
Enjoy!
