Lamb koftas

This is an absolutely gorgeous recipe that I found on the Jamie Oliver (click here for original recipe) website. It is filling, full of fresh flavours and really healthy all at the same time. I would never have thought of sprinkling the chopped nuts over the freshly cooked koftas but the result was incredible – giving the meat a complimentary sweetness and crunch. I served it up with some pickled cabbage and some mixed bean salad. It was clean plates all round.

Ingredients

1/4 of a red cabbage

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp caster sugar

50g chopped mixed nuts

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 iceberg lettuce

400g minced lamb

Sweet chilli sauce

4 small tortillas

Fat-free natural yoghurt, to serve

MIxed bean salad, to serve (I used a pre-made salad from the supermarket)

Method

Finely slice the cabbage and put it in a bowl along with the white wine vinegar, sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well then set aside. To make the lamb koftas, season the lamb mince with salt and pepper then use your hands to form into kofta or sausage shapes around wooden bbq skewers. Place the skewers under a hot grill and cook for 20 minutes, turning occasionally until the lamb is cooked through and golden brown. While the lamb is cooking, add the fennel seeds to a pestle and mortar and crush to a coarse sand consistency. Once crushed, turn out onto a large plate or board and mix in the chopped nuts.

Once the lamb is cooked, remove from the grill, brush all over with the sweet chilli sauce then roll each kofta in the chopped nuts/fennel mixture.

Serve the koftas with the tortillas, some of the pickled cabbage (drain and squeeze out any excess liquid before serving), mixed bean salad, some crisp iceberg lettuce and a drizzle of natural yoghurt.

Serves 4

Original article and pictures take http://theglasgowscullery.com/2014/10/07/lamb-koftas/ site