Ewe talking to me? These lamb kofta kebabs are easy to make, and taste amazing pared with turmeric tahini sauce!
Shalom, friends! It has been a minute since my last my last recipe post. Since Passover to be exact. Back when I started my blog (over TEN years ago oy), I posted a new recipe every week. And I would not let myself miss a week, even with a busy drinking social life, or while I attended culinary school with two jobs.
But I am more lenient on myself now. And I have so many recipes on this blog for your enjoyment! Plus, I’ve been busy. Partially, we have been busy redesigning my store ModernTribe (and way more behinds the scenes magic too).
But also, after a year of mostly staying inside and working and seeing no one besides my husband, we have been busy living that vaxxed life! We visited our parents and met our first nephew, and even went to dinner with another couple and it’s been glorious.
But this past weekend, as we were getting ready to attend the Pride Parade, we had a sudden hankering for meat on a stick and defrosted lamb in the fridge and I said WAIT! Let me get my camera, I am putting this on the blog.
These came together in no time. We mixed up the meat mixture, tahini sauce and Israeli salad before pride, and then came back an hour later and grilled the lamb kofta kebabs and pita and put it all together.
Such a delicious lunch- you’ll love it! Flavorful and juice meat, with a nutty, aromatic turmeric tahini sauce and fresh Israeli salad and mint all wrapped in pita.
Lamb Kofta Kebabs
Ingredients
Lamb Kofta
- 1 small white onion
- 1 pound ground lamb (80/20)
- 1 large egg
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil or other neutral oil, plus more for basting
- 1 tsp potato starch
Assembly
- 4 pitas
- Turmeric Tahini Sauce (recipe below)
- Israeli Salad (optional)
- 2 tbsp mint leaves (optional)
Instructions
- In a food processor, chop the onion until very fine. Remove the onion to a towel and squeeze out all the water until it is very dry.
- Place the dry onion back in the food processor and add in remaining ingredients: lamb, garlic, salt, pepper, sumac, turmeric, oil and potato starch (that helps keep it juicy!)
- Pulse until the mixture is combined and you have a meaty paste. Do not over-mix. Refrigerate for one hour for flavors to meld.
- While your mixture is chilling, you can make the tahini sauce (recipe below) and Israeli Salad if desired (we desired).
- When ready to grill, pre-heat your grill over medium-high heat. Set aside some oil (or butter!) with a brush for basting.
- Divide the meat in four portions and form around skewers into a hot dog-esque shape. You can use metal or wood, just make sure to soak the wood so they don't burn. We put a few food skewers together because these are thick! They stay extra juicy that way.
- Grill for 3-4 minutes on each of the four sides until meat is cooked through, basting periodically with oil. If you like (we like) grill your pita for a minute to heat and add some char.
- Serve immediately with pita, turmeric tahini sauce, Israeli salad, mint, or whatever you like!
Turmeric Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (Greek yogurt works too if you aren't keeping it parve)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- Ø Ø Water to thin
- Ø Ø Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make the creamy tahini sauce, mix together tahini, mayonnaise or Greek yogurt, lemon juice , olive oil and turmeric in a medium bowl or a food chopper and add enough water to get a thick but runny texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This looks amazing, but I have a few questions……. Can I use beef in place of lamb? Is Tahini Paste the same as Tahini? And what is that pita? It looks so different and amazing! Did you make it or purchase it? If you made it, can you please include that recipe as well? If you purchased it, can you shared the brand/type?
Thanks! You can use beef, but I haven’t tested it with beef. Yes tahini paste is tahini. It’s just store bought pita but I do have a recipe on my blog! Not sure the brand.
I made this yesterday,l with 500g mince and of course the tahini sauce and the salad (minus the jalapenos.)
It was very tasty. I used a hand blender for the onion and just a spoon to combine the mince and other bits which was fine.
Very filling, just the right amount for the 4 of us.
Glad you liked them!