Back to Lebanese
Kafta Mishweeyeh
Serves 4 Prep 55 min Cook 12 min Total 1 hr 7 min Type Meal Origin Lebanese

Kafta Mishweeyeh

Lebanon's grilled kafta: lamb-and-beef mince mixed with parsley, onion, allspice and cinnamon, shaped on flat skewers and grilled charred over charcoal.

Serves 4 Prep 25 minutes (plus 30 minutes resting) Cook 12 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Mince combines with grated onion, very-finely chopped parsley, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, salt and a pinch of cayenne. The mixture rests for 30 minutes to firm up. Wet hands shape portions around flat metal skewers into long sausage-like cylinders pressed firmly so they don't drop. Grilled hot, turned once, 4-5 minutes per side. Sliced or pulled off the skewers; wrapped in warm bread with the trimmings.

Ingredients

Kafta

  • 500 g lamb mince (slightly fatty - shoulder)
  • 300 g beef mince
  • 1 onion (large, very finely chopped - grate then squeeze out and chop the pulp)
  • 4 tablespoons fresh parsley (very finely chopped)
  • 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

To grill

  • 8 cherry tomatoes (on skewers)
  • 1 green bell pepper (chunks, on skewers)

To serve

  • 4 pita (large, or saj breads, warmed)
  • Garlic toum (lebanese garlic emulsion)
  • Hummus
  • Pickled turnips (pink)
  • Sliced raw onion
  • Pinch of sumac
  • Fresh parsley sprigs
  • Lemon wedges

Method

Stage 1 - Mix

  1. Combine all kafta ingredients in a wide bowl. Mix thoroughly with hands.
  2. Cover; rest 30 minutes in the fridge - the meat firms up and seasons through.

Stage 2 - Shape

  1. Wet your hands.
  2. Take a fistful of mince (about 120 g); shape into a long sausage 12-15 cm long around a flat metal skewer.
  3. Press firmly so the mince adheres to the skewer.
  4. Repeat - 8 skewers.

Stage 3 - Pre-heat grill

  1. Heat charcoal until coals are ashed over (or gas grill / oven grill on highest).

Stage 4 - Grill

  1. Place kafta skewers on the grate, 8 cm above the coals.
  2. Grill 3-4 minutes; turn 90°; grill 2 minutes; turn 90°; grill 2 minutes.
  3. Test: the surface should be deeply crusted and the inside just cooked.
  4. Grill tomato/pepper skewers alongside, 2-3 minutes per side.

Stage 5 - Serve

  1. Slide kafta off skewers onto warm bread.
  2. Lay out toum, hummus, pickled turnips, sliced onion, parsley.
  3. Wrap kafta with hummus, toum, pickles, herbs.
  4. Lemon wedge alongside.

Notes

  • Finely chop the parsley: Big pieces of parsley fall off as the kafta turns. A very fine chop binds into the meat.
  • Rest the mince: 30 minutes refrigerated firms the mince so it doesn't slide off the skewer. Skipping leads to skewer-failure.
  • Flat metal skewers: Wide flat skewers grip the meat and let you rotate the kafta cleanly. Wooden skewers should be soaked 30 minutes; round skewers spin when you try to turn.

Storage

  • Refrigerate raw shaped skewers 24 hours.
  • Cooked kafta refrigerates 2 days; reheat briefly in a hot pan.

More like this

1 / 4
Kofta Burger

Kofta Burger

Lebanese kofta, sometimes spelled kafta, is minced lamb (often with a little beef) seasoned with grated onion, parsley and the warm spice blend known variously as baharat, sabaa baharat or seven-spice: allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cumin and coriander. Traditionally it is moulded around flat metal skewers and grilled over charcoal at a mangal, where it sears fast and stays juicy. Shaping the same mince into a patty for a flatbread sandwich is a natural extension and one you will find in Beirut bakeries and Levantine takeaways from Sydney to Detroit. What makes this burger taste authentic and not just a "Middle-Eastern-spiced lamb burger" is the grated onion: pulled across a box grater so it dissolves into the mince and seasons every gram from the inside, releasing moisture as it cooks. Squeezing out the excess liquid first keeps the patty from falling apart. The sauce is a loosened tahini-yoghurt, tart with lemon and garlic, and the contrast comes from sumac-dusted onions whose sharp, almost berry-like sourness cuts through the lamb's richness. Wrap it in toasted khobz or a soft brioche, depending on the occasion. Difficulty is low. The only skill is restraint with the mince: knead just enough to bind, no more.

Lebanese 35 minutes Serves4
Kefta Tagine

Kefta Tagine

Beef or lamb mince is mixed with grated onion, garlic, fresh parsley and coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper; shaped into small (3 cm) balls. A tomato sauce is built in the tagine: onion sweats in olive oil, garlic, cumin and paprika join, tomato passata and a stock cube simmer for 10 minutes. The meatballs are nestled in; cooked for 12 minutes turning once. Eggs are cracked into wells; lid on; 4 minutes more until the whites are just set. Scattered with parsley and served hot.

North African 45 minutes Serves4