Almost like barbecuing - Turkey Kofte (or maybe kofta) with Middle East Potatoes

As appears usual these days, here in Northern England we are having our Summer in March/April, presumably leaving June, July and August free for walls of rain and gales to hit us, as has happened since about 2006. The only reason I remember 2006 so firmly is that it is the year Lola was born, on 20th May, and the ensuing months were gloriously hot. Lola slept in a nappy only, 4 o' clock feeds were wonderful, with the sun peeping over the horizon, the heat already beginning to rise and there was that perceptible presence of the Summer stillness and light, where you know it is going to be a beautiful, beautiful day. It was a Summer of eating outside, the smell of barbecue (not always pleasant; some of our neighbours use petrol to get their barbecues going I think) and lots of chatter were the backdrop as the sun slowly sank in the west. 

So now, when our esteemed weather forecasters tell us that we might be having half an hour of decent weather one weekend, the supermarkets pile the fridge cabinets with suitable barbecue fare, these days often on sticks and covered with some unidentifiable sauce or marinade. They never look appealing, |I suspect they use meat of poor quality and I suspect its inferior flavour is masked by the dayglo coating, so I make my own. They might not be pretty but with the usual accompaniments they taste pretty good.

I was very lucky (though after dropping several hundred hints) for Mother's Day to get Tasmasin Day Lewis' newest cookbook, 'Food you can't say no to' and as usual I was not disappointed. I adore her cookbooks and the way she writes so eloquently about food. You can't help but want to make each recipe. I saw her recipe for turkey kofte and decided this would be the first recipe to try, mainly because I had the ingredients to hand and the sun was shining outside, and this sort of food to me is sunshine food. If I had had a barbecue ready primed, I might have asked Phill to put them on it, but I settled for the hot plate instead.

To accompany this I made something which I loosely called 'Middle East Potatoes' for want of a better term. Years ago I went to a Lebanese restaurant and had something vaguely similar. I asked about the recipe and remember some of the ingredients enough to scribble them down. It's quite a fluid recipe in that it depends on very much on taste and I adjust quantities throughout the cooking process, but basically it's potatoes, cumin, coriander, cayenne, lime, and salt. I piled the leftovers of this into the remaining pitta bread the next day and it wasn't elegant, but it was good. Very good.

Anyway, I have rambled on jumping from one idea to another, I should get down to giving you the recipe:

Turkey Kofte - adapted from 'Food You Can't Say No To' by Tamasin Day Lewis, with Middle East Potatoes, Yoghurt, cucumber and coriander dip and pitta bread.

Serves Mum, Dad, Lola and Finn generously

Ingredients:

500g free-range turkey mince
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves (though I confess I used a tsp of dried mint)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp olive oil
A finger of fresh root ginger, coarsely grated, skin on (I didn't use this)

A small onion, diced finely
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp dried chilli flakes

 Pre-soak eight long bamboo skewers in water (to prevent them scorching).

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with your hands and form into eight bullrush shapes, pressing them onto long bamboo skewers and setting them aside on a plate until you are ready to cook them. Note: Turkey mince is extraordinarily bland, and as such you will need plenty of salt and pepper to lift the flavour, something like three to four teaspoons of salt maybe depending on taste. You'll need to add a teaspoon at a time and just taste a smidge of the mixture on the tip of your tongue to see if it is flavourful enough.

Heat up the barbecue or an oiled griddle. Cook the turkey kofte for about two minutes on each of the four sides, i.e. eight minutes in total or until cooked right through. Mine needed longer than the two minutes per side, probably because mine were not what you would call 'slimline'.

For the Middle East Potatoes (Serves 2, generously)

Olive oil, about 5 - 6 tbsp

About 10 small waxy potatoes, quartered

One small onion, diced quite small

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

A little cayenne pepper, to taste

a handful of chopped coriander

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

the juice of half a lime

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan or pot and add the onions. Saute until translucent, then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant.

 

Add the cubed potatoes and fry, trying to ensure that they brown on each side a little. You may have to keep scraping the pan occasionally and be prepared to add a little more olive oil if sticking is a problem.

 

 

 

Once the potatoes are part way cooked add the rest of the ingredients, except the chopped coriander and the lime. At this point I stirred the mixture and covered mine on a low heat to steam the potatoes into cooking completely. You should cook the mixture until the potatoes are soft but not disintegrating. Check for seasoning, then add the coriander and the lime.

 

For the yoghurt, cucumber and coriander dip:

200ml greek yoghurt

salt and pepper to taste

slices of cucumber

1 tbsp of coriander

a squeeze of lime juice

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and check seasoning. Set aside.

***

To serve, place the kofte on a plate, still skewered if you like (I took them off the skewer for Lola and Finn) add some potato, some dip and some toasted pitta bread. Sweet chilli sauce, by the way, was on hand for those who need it.