Persian lamb, apricot and pistachio koofteh
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Easy
- March 2016

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Serves 4-6
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Hands-on time 25 min, oven time 45 min
Persian cooks have been making koofteh (or kofte) like this for centuries. Serve Sabrina Ghayour’s for a breakfast or brunch feast with wow factor.
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Dairy-free recipes
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Gluten-free recipes
- Calories
- 357kcals
- Fat
- 22.8g (7.8g saturated)
- Protein
- 29.5g
- Carbohydrates
- 7.2g (7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.4g
- Salt
- 0.5g
For 6
Ingredients
- 500g lamb mince (20% fat)
- 7 large free-range eggs (3 raw, 4 boiled for 6-7 min and peeled)
- 25g fresh dill, finely chopped (stalks and all)
- 25g fresh chives, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 50g whole, shelled pistachios
- 100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
You’ll also need:
- 1.5 litre loaf tin
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. In a mixing bowl, combine the lamb mince, raw eggs, herbs, spices, pistachios, apricots and a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper. Mix together well.
- Press just less than half the mixture into the base of the loaf tin, then make an indent lengthways down the centre, end to end. Lay the boiled eggs in a row in the indent. Pile the remaining mixture over the eggs and smooth the surface into a peak, ensuring the eggs are all covered. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the tin from the oven, then turn out the koofteh and cut into slices. Serve with your favourite sauce – I like mine with a sweet tamarind or chilli sauce, but brown sauce works beautifully too.
delicious. tips
The word koofteh/kofte means ‘to pummel’, so remember that when making your mixture and work it almost to a paste.
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