Active Time

　　30 minutes

　　Total Time

　　30 minutes

　　Looking back at all the kofta recipes I have written to date, I realize that in most I incorporate a combination of spices, aromatics, and an element of crunch to make them special. I also sometimes add dried fruit, such as currants, raisins, sour cherries, or even cranberries. But for these beauties, I’ve paired the very Persian barberry with pine nuts. This works so well as a stand-alone kofta piled into some bread with some harissa-spiked yogurt and salad, or serve with rice.

　　This recipe was excerpted from ‘Persiana Everyday’ by Sabrina Ghayour. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.

　　

Ingredients

8 kofta

　　

Kofta ingredients

1 lb plus 2 oz. ground lamb (20% fat)

　　4 scallions, thinly sliced from root to tip

　　1 heaped Tbsp. dried wild oregano

　　2 Tbsp. dried barberries

　　2 tsp. pul biber chile flakes

　　1 tsp. cumin seeds

　　1 tsp. ground coriander

　　2 garlic cloves, crushed

　　⅓ cup pine nuts

　　½ tsp. baking soda

　　Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

　　

To serve (optional)

2 mini baguettes

　　Sliced pickled cucumbers

　　Sliced scallions

　　Handful of pomegranate seeds

　　Sprigs of dill

　　Mixed salad leaves

　　Greek yogurt, mixed with harissa to taste

　　

Step 1

Preheat your oven to its highest setting. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

　　

Step 2

Put all the kofta ingredients into a mixing bowl with a generous amount of salt and pepper and, using your hands, work them together really well for a couple of minutes until you have an evenly combined paste. 

　　

Step 3

Divide the meat mixture into 8 portions (to be as precise as possible, if you have a set of kitchen scales, you can weigh the mixture and then divide it) and shape each into an even-shaped sausage about 4 inches long. 

　　

Step 4

Place on the lined pan and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is, until browned on top. 

　　

Step 5

Serve in baguettes with extra fillings of your choice, or on their own with a side dish.

　　Reprinted with permission from Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour, copyright © 2022. Photographs by Kris Kirkham, copyright © 2022. Published by Aster, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.