Kofta Sandwiches with Tomatoes & Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

These sandwiches are a great weeknight dinner. Using ground turkey or chicken instead of beef, lamb or pork makes them a little bit lighter as well.

After seeing sandwiches served in taco racks at NYC’s Chelsea Market, I used taco racks to assemble these messy sandwiches. Genius! 😉

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. I used ground turkey instead of ground chicken and added lemon juice, garlic, and herbs to the sauce.

Yield: Serves 4

• 1.25 pounds ground turkey or chicken
• 1/2 white onion, diced small
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley and cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cucumber, diced large (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1/2 a lemon, more to taste
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 to 4 T minced fresh dill
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2 handfuls of grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise or 2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 4 small naan or pitas, warmed
• 1/2 cup fresh mint or cilantro, for serving
• sliced or chopped red onion, for serving, optional

1. In a large bowl, combine ground meat, diced onion, chopped parsley/cilantro, cumin and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
2. Using your hands, form mixture into 8 oval patties.
3. In a medium bowl, toss together cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and dill; season with salt and pepper. Add additional lemon juice, if desired.
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium to medium-high. Cook patties until browned on all sides and cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. (I cooked the meatballs until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees.)
5. Divide patties and tomatoes among warm naan or pitas. (I assembled the sandwiches in taco racks.)
6. Top with cucumber-yogurt sauce and mint or cilantro. Top with red onion, if desired.
7. Fold to enclose (if not using taco racks) and serve.

Turkish Meatballs with Lime-Yogurt Sauce

I have several recipes to share from Christopher Kimball’s wonderful book, Milk Street.

This recipe used several genius techniques. The first was using a French technique, panade, which incorporates a bread and dairy paste into meat to bind it together and keep it moist during cooking. These meatballs were incredibly tender as a result. The author also uses the microwave to infuse oil with shallots, garlic, and spices- genius!

This recipe was adapted from Milk Street: The New Home Cooking by Christopher Kimball. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and substituted Greek yogurt for whole milk plain yogurt. I really loaded the pita bread halves with meatballs, sauce, and toppings making them essentially knife and fork “sandwiches.” These meatballs would also be wonderful served over rice with a green salad. Delicious!

Yield: Serves 4 to 6 with 1 1/2 cups sauce

For the Meatballs:

• 3 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• one 8-inch pita bread, torn into small pieces (about 3 ounces)(white pita is preferable)
• 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves (1 ounce), finely chopped
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Lime-Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
• 3 T tahini
• 3 T lime juice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

For Serving:

• 2 to 3 pita bread rounds, halved
• tomato slices
• cucumber slices
• red onion slices
• fresh mint or parsley leaves
• lime-yogurt sauce

To Make the Meatballs:

1. In a small bowl, stir together 2 T of the oil, the shallot, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and oregano. Microwave until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pita bread, yogurt, and water. Use your hands to mash the mixture to a smooth paste. Add the reserved oil mixture, the mint, ground meat, salt and pepper. User your hands to thoroughly mix.
3. Divide the mixture into 12 portions, then use your hands to roll each into a smooth ball. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
4. In a 12 or 14-inch skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium to medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add half of the meatballs, and, using a spatula press them into 1/2-inch thick patties.
5. Cook over medium, adjusting the heat as necessary, until the meatballs are well browned on both sides and register 140 degrees F at the center, about 4  min on the first side and 2 minutes after flipping.
6. Transfer to a platter and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.

To Make the Sauce:

1. Whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

To Serve:

1. Fill half of a pita bread pocket with 2-3 meatballs.
2. Top with sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, red onion, herbs, and sauce, as desired.