Lamb koftas with pitta breads
Holly Bell is here with a great recipe for a midweek meal. So if you have a house full of kids and you want an idea to keep the children entertained and have some fun with the kids in the kitchen, whilst still feeding the adults a wholesome dinner, try lamb koftas with pitta breads, a burger relish coleslaw and a homemade hummus dip.
Lamb koftas
Serves: 4 - 6
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil500g lamb mince75g fresh breadcrumbs30ml milk1 large egg1 tsp salt1 tsp black pepper1 tsp dried oregano60g feta cheese, crumbled1 tsp cumin
Method
Grease a large roasting tray with the oil and preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
In a large bowl mix together the mince, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, salt, pepper and oregano. Use your hands to make sure every ingredient is really well distributed. You can use a food processor to do this but beware of over mixing it into sludge. Add the crumbled feta and mix through gently with your hands.
Dip your hands in some cold water and form sausage shaped koftas from the mixture, using a piece of the mixture about the size of a small apple
Place each kofta on the greased tray and continue until the entire mixture has been used
Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway
Serve with either coleslaw, a simple feta-less greek salad, orzo pasta, hummus or just toasted pitta with tzatziki
Variations
If you don’t like lamb then substitute for chicken or turkey mince and use lemon zest and coriander rather than the oregano and feta
You can make this mixture into meatballs and simply roast for 15 minutes longer
The koftas are delicious the next day cold in lunch boxes or for a picnic
If making this for under 1’s then leave out the salt and reduce the feta by half or leave it out entirely.
Burger relish style coleslaw
Serves: 4 - 6
Ingredients
¼ red cabbage (about 400g)1 red onion, peeled10 radishes, trimmed3 large carrots, trimmed and peeled1 tsp salt3 apples, I use Granny Smith for their crunch, coredZest and juice of 1 lemon5 tbsp mayonnaise2 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
Finely shred the cabbage, red onion and radishes into strips. I use my food processor but a sharp knife and a little time spent concentrating on even cutting and you’ll have the same result.
Grate the carrots and place these, the cabbage, red onion and radishes in a colander over the sink and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 40 minutes to drain away any excess liquid.
Just before serving, finely shred the apples and tip into a serving bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice and toss well. Stir in the vegetables and the mayonnaise until evenly distributed. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve.
Homemade hummus
Ingredients
1 x 400g tin chickpeas3 tbsps tahiniJuice of 1 large lemon4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil2 cloves of garlic, minced1 tsp salt2 tbsps waterPaprika, to garnish
Variations
50g roasted red peppers (jarred variety are fine)
10g fresh coriander leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
Method
Blitz the chickpeas, tahini (which you can leave out if you can’t find it) and lemon juice until smooth in a food processor.
With the processor running add oil until combined, then add the garlic, salt and the water to loosen the hummus.
Spoon into a dish and add a little paprika as a garnish.
Variations
To make roasted red pepper hummus simply blitz the red peppers into the dip before garnishing with paprika
To make lemon and coriander hummus blitz the fresh coriander and lemon zest through the dip and serve with a little extra freshly chopped coriander