Adana-Style Lamb Skewers
Hand-chopped lamb and tail fat grilled on flat skewers, with warm flatbread, charred vegetables and sumac onions.
İzmir style
Last updated:
Last updated:
Meatballs with Potatoes and Tomatoes
İzmir Köfte
Finger-shaped beef meatballs baked with potatoes, carrot, green pepper and chopped tomatoes.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 0
- Total
- 1 hr 20 min
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 1 Medium onion
grated
- 2 Slices of stale white bread
crusts removed, soaked and squeezed dry
- 1 Egg
beaten
- 1 bunch Parsley
finely chopped
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- ½ tsp Turkish red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp Table salt for the meatballs
- Black pepper, to taste
- Water for soaking bread and wetting hands, as needed
- 1 lb Potatoes
peeled, cut into thin wedges
- 1 Green bell pepper
seeded and sliced
- 1 Medium carrot
thickly sliced
- 4 cloves Garlic
finely chopped
- 14 oz Canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 240 ml Water for the sauce
- Table salt for the vegetables, to taste
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F. Soak the crustless bread in water, squeeze dry and crumble into a bowl. Mix with the onion, egg, parsley, cumin, red pepper flakes, measured salt and black pepper. Add the beef and knead to a soft, evenly mixed consistency.
With damp hands, shape walnut-sized pieces into thick fingers. Continue until all the mixture is shaped.
Arrange the potatoes, pepper, carrot, garlic and meatballs in a large oven dish. Add the chopped tomatoes, measured sauce water and olive oil. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and combine gently.
Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened. Check that the meatballs are cooked through; this casserole should reach 165°F at the center. Serve hot.
Cooking guidance
Soak the stale bread and squeeze it firmly before crumbling it into the mixture. Cut the potatoes into thin wedges so they soften alongside the meatballs.
Related recipes
Aksaray Kavurma
Lamb cooked with sheep tail fat, seasoned with kekik and pepper, served in flatbread with onion and parsley.
Aksaray Tava
Small pieces of lamb baked with tomatoes, green peppers and whole garlic in a rich tomato and pepper sauce, served with warm lavaş.
Baked Lamb and Eggplant Tray Kebab
Finely chopped vegetables mixed with ground lamb and baked in a thin layer over sliced eggplant.
Baked Lentil Dumplings (Home Version)
Small, closed lentil dumplings baked first until golden, then finished in hot water. Serve with garlic yogurt and red-pepper butter, with extra yogurt and herbs on the side.
Baked Sea Bream
Whole sea bream roasted with thin potatoes, tomato, green pepper and lemon.
Beef and Chickpea Rice
Layers of shredded beef, caramelized onion, rice and chickpeas, cooked in broth and turned onto a platter.
Beef Döner
Thin layers of seasoned beef and mince, chilled into a roll, sliced and quickly browned in a skillet. This is a skillet adaptation of layered döner. A restaurant spit uses a different cooking process. Slice only when the roll is firm but safely cuttable; never force a knife through a solid frozen block.
Black Sea Anchovy Cornbread
Dense savory cornmeal bread filled with anchovies, chard, spring onions and herbs.
Black Sea Anchovy Rice
Spiced rice with currants, pine nuts and dill enclosed in a browned anchovy shell.
Bonito with Tomato and Onion
Atlantic bonito steaks baked over soft onions and tomatoes with bay and lemon.
Bread with Beef and Garlic Yogurt
Warm pide topped with garlic-mint yogurt, ground beef in tomato sauce and red-pepper butter.