MUSA’S CUMIN KÖFTE WITH MELON AND TOMATO SALAD


Köfte are Turkish meatballs. Musa Dagdeviren at the Çiya restaurant in Istanbul taught me how to make his köfte. He always cuts the meat by hand (I used the biggest knife I’ve ever seen, though he wasn’t too impressed with my knife skills). Of course, you can use minced meat, as I’ve done here – you won’t quite get the crumbly texture of Musa’s köfte but they’ll still taste great. It’s important to get enough fat in the mixture – as when making sausages or burgers – to keep the patties moist and tasty. I always use the beef fat as it’s not as greasy as lamb fat. I like to serve these with a melon, tomato, chilli and feta salad.

SERVES 4–6

PREP & COOK: 15 MINS

For the köfte:

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

a handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped

a pinch of ground cinnamon

a pinch of ground allspice

a pinch of chilli flakes

1 tbsp ground cumin

250g (9oz) lamb mince

250g (9oz) beef mince

olive oil, for frying

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

1kg (2¼lb) watermelon or other small melon, such as cantaloupe or galia, cut into large chunks

2 tomatoes, cut into large chunks

100g (3½oz) feta

a handful of mint leaves

1 chilli, finely chopped

olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all the köfte ingredients, except for the oil, in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Mix everything with your hands until the mixture is just combined, but try not to overmix. With slightly wet hands, shape the meat into patties about 4cm (1½in) in diameter and press a finger in the middle of each patty to make an indentation.

To make the salad place the melon and tomatoes in a bowl and season. Break in the feta, tear in the mint, and sprinkle in the chilli. Drizzle generously with oil and squeeze the lemon juice over the salad. Toss very gently for a few seconds and then leave to sit while you cook the köfte.

Heat up a large pan with a good glug of oil. When the oil is hot, fry the köfte for 2 minutes on each side until golden and just cooked through. Serve with the salad.

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