Moroccan Beef Kofta

I made these as part of my Moroccan Tomato Soup with Kofta and Chickpeas. At work, we use kofta on a fair number of our catering menus. They are extremely versatile, are found in of number of cuisines around the world, especially in the middle east and Asia, and they are essentially a type of a meatball, which expands their use even further.

Kofta is in essence and flavored beef patty, usually in an oblong shape. For this particular recipe, I leaned into aromatic spices like cinnamon and allspice, fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, and oregano, as well as ginger, garlic, harissa, and Aleppo pepper to give them some heat and a bite. Feel free to change the flavors to what you like, change the sizes of them up, and use them in any meatball application that makes sense, as kebobs, in soups, etc.

I only added egg as a binder, and let them rest in the fridge for a bit before searing them. Once I got a decent sear on them, I braised them in the soup I was using with them. To reheat I added them to the soup and brought it up gently.

One thing I do, which I've probably mentioned in other recipes, is that when I'm making a meatball of any type, I always test them before I roll them all out. Normally I ball up a bit, wrap it in plastic, and microwave it very briefly until cooked. It doesn't take long, bu you get to adjust the flavors before you've gone to far in the process. Additionally you can poach them once wrapped, but I find the microwave quicker and easier.

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Ingredients

• ground beef 1 1/3 lb

• ginger, minced 3 T

• shallot, minced 1 ea

• garlic*, minced 6 cloves

• cinnamon, ground 2 tsp

• allspice, ground 1 tsp

• salt and pepper to taste

• parsley, chopped 4 T

• cilantro, chopped 3 T

• oregano, chopped 1 T

• paprika 2 tsp

• Aleppo pepper 2 T

• eggs 3 ea

• Avenue Spice 2 t

*I actually used fermented garlic while making this, if you have it I recommend it, but fresh garlic will work

Method of Procedure

1. Mince and chop all your ingredients.

2. Add all your ingredients together.

3. Ball one up, cook one and taste it. Adjust to your preference.

4. Once the flavor is where you want, roll out the kofta as you would a meatball, but instead of rolling in a circle, go side to side as well.

5. Lay your kofta on a lined tray and refrigerate to firm up.

6. Sear, and finish by braising, roasting, or sauteing.