Kofte in Pita Pockets

Submitted by mersaydees

"This is a Turkish sandwich based on a recipe from Carole Handslip's book, Step-by-Step 50 Great Sandwiches. When I make my own pita bread to go with them, I give this 5 stars! Serve with a minted yogurt sauce, such as recipe #36126, #36126."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 slice bread
• 1⁄2 lb ground lamb
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of fresh mint, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1⁄4 cup flour (for coating)
• 1⁄2 cup oil
• 4 pita breads
• 1 onion, cut into thin rings
• 2 tomatoes, sliced (or cut into wedges)

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Soak the bread in water for 5 minutes, then squeeze dry and add to the next 7 ingredients. Mix until thoroughly blended and malleable. Shape into small balls the size of a walnut, using dampened hands so that the mixture does not stick. Lightly coat in flour.
3. Shallow-fry for about 6 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown.
4. Warm the pita bread in the oven for a few minutes until puffed up, then cut a thin strip off one side of each pita to make a pocket.
5. Fill pita with onion rings, tomato wedges, and a few Kofte.

Reviews

[twissis]

Made as written for ZWT6 on June 17th (Icelandic 4th of July) because DH & I had our main meal at noon & wanted something lighter for dinner, but still tasty & substantial enough to be satisfying. These babies are an easy-fix w/all the flavours well-balanced & the pine nuts were esp good for the flavour they added + their textural variant. I liked their use here a lot. I served mine w/my Recipe #355506. This recipe is very forgiving, but the camera tells the tale. About the only error you can make is to shape the meatballs too lrg, tear the pita bread as you assemble the sandwiches & then have to plate the veggies on the side. What I should have done was to halve them & work from there to assemble. Thx for sharing this tasty & easy-fix recipe w/us.

 

[breezermom]

Oh Unruly One! These are absolutely fabulous! I doubled the recipe, using even another 1/4 lb of meat (doubled), and still this only fed myself and DS. Granted, DS is a bottomless pit, I keep looking for a hole in the bottom of his foot! Absolutely loved the pine nuts mixed into the meatball mixture. Thanks for a delightfully easy to make dinner! Wish I had leftovers for tomorrow, but alas, I am off to search for more recipes!

 

[MarraMamba]

these are addictive! I have one complaint, you didn't warn us to double the recipe because it is so good you could eat the whole thing yourself :)

 

[Leslie]

These meatballs were terrific! I served them on some Naan Bread with fruited rice and not a scrap was left. The combo if cumin and mint is just amazing. I did sub in ground beef for the ground lamb, and cooking time was still the same. Tasty and flavourful, thanks for a delicious meal! Made for Aussie Swap :)

 

[Chef Kate]

We LOVE these meatballs! The combination of mint and cumin, the amounts of onion and garlic are just right. And the pine nuts give the perfect touch of crunch. My only change: I skipped the flour and oil and baked these babies in a 375 F oven. They came out perfectly juicy yet not at all greasy. We just polished off a double batch and I'm already being nagged to make more. Thanks, Mersaydees!