Köfte

Köfte

• minced beef400 g
• minced lamb400 g
• onions1
• stale white bread50 g
• garlic cloves2
• ground cumin2 tsp
• dried oregano1 tsp
• salt1½ tsp
• black pepper

Piyaz

• cannellini beans400 g
• red onions½
• tomatoes1
• flat-leaf parsley3 tbsp
• olive oil3 tbsp
• red wine vinegar1 tbsp
• sumac1 tsp
• lemons1

Köfte

1. 01

   Grate the onion on the coarse side of a box grater, then squeeze it hard in your fist or in a clean cloth and keep the pulp. The juice left behind is water, and water in the mixture is what makes köfte break apart on the grill.

2. 02

   Crush the garlic to a paste. Soak the bread in a little water for 2 minutes, squeeze it dry and crumble it into a bowl with the minced beef and minced lamb, the onion pulp, the garlic, the cumin, the oregano, 1¼ tsp of the salt and freshly ground pepper.

3. 03

   Knead for 5 minutes, lifting the mixture and slapping it back into the bowl every so often, until it lightens in colour and starts to cling to the side of the bowl in one mass.

4. 04

   Cover and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. This is the step people skip: the salt and spices work through the meat and the mixture firms up enough to shape cleanly.

5. 05

   With damp hands, divide the mixture into 16 and roll each piece into a ball, then flatten it into an oval about 1.5 cm thick, smoothing the edges so they do not crack open.

6. 06

   Grill over high heat, on coals or a ridged pan brushed with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, for 3 to 4 minutes a side, turning once, until deeply marked and cooked through with no pink in the middle (75°C inside). Rest them for 2 minutes off the heat.

Piyaz

7. 07

   While the köfte mixture rests, drain and rinse the beans. Thinly slice the red onion, dice the tomato and chop the parsley. Toss the beans with the red onion, tomato and parsley, the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, the vinegar, the sumac and the rest of the salt, and leave it to stand for at least 10 minutes, or chill it until the köfte are grilled.

8. 08

   Cut the lemon into wedges. Pile the köfte onto the piyaz and serve with the lemon wedges to squeeze over.