Lamby's Lamb Kofta Salad

I'm sorry for my lack of posting over the last two weeks. It's a busy time. Life is flying past in a blur. I often think about why it seems that each year goes faster than the last. Is it because most of us are doing the same thing day in day out? Because life is not as new and unfamiliar as it was growing up?

I had a conversation with a friend a few months ago about this topic and he said to slow his life down, he did one new thing a week, even if it was as mundane as walking a different way to work. Sometimes he'd go to the symphony, go for a run in the park instead of the gym, or eat somewhere new for breakfast. Doing something different, no matter how small, gave him a kind of placeholder in his mind so he could distinguish each week from another.

My friend's name is 'Lamby' and I'm dedicating this recipe, a Lebanese lamb kofta salad, to him. I hope this week stands out in his recollections as a special week.

The lamb kofta salad is a dish I ate during my recent detox diet. I have a real weakness for Lebanese food, especially a garlic sauce often eaten with barbecued meats. I first tasted it in a small Lebanese restaurant called Fatimas in Sydney. I've tried on many occasion to replicate the creamy concoction but I never get it just right. I do come pretty close though.

The sauce is a combination of TWO garlic bulbs (yes, I do smell of garlic for the next two days), olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt. It's fantastic smeared over lamb, chicken, beef, white fish and in salads. Just don't kiss anyone.

Lamb Kofta Salad
(Serves 4)

500g lean ground lamb
1/2 medium brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tbs olive oil for frying

Salad

1 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
1 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 small Spanish onion, finely sliced
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

Garlic Sauce

2 garlic bulbs
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Place ground lamb, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander and sea salt in a bowl. Use your hands to mix until well combined. Shape 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls of the lamb mixture into small meatballs. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the garlic sauce. Peel the garlic cloves and put them in the blender or food processor. Add half the lemon juice and start to blend. You may from time to time have stop and push the garlic down with a spoon if it sticks to the side. Add the salt. Continue to blend.
3. Now add the olive oil in a slow stream while continuing to blend.The sauce should have the consistency of mayonnaise. Taste it to see if you need to add the rest of the lemon juice. If it needs more lemon, add the rest of the juice and then pulse for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until you need it.
4. Heat a oil in frying pan over medium heat. Cook meatballs turning occasionally, for 8 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
5. Combine parsley, mint, cucumber, tomato and Spanish onion in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Serve with lamb kofta and a side of garlic sauce for dipping.

Comments

[Marc @ NoRecipes]

I totally agree about the days/weeks/years flying by. Honestly somtimes I loose track of the day and even the year. I just wrote a check out last week dated 2007... oops!

This dish looks so light and delicious. Love that there's more salad than lamb:-)

[Manggy]

Your friend is quite wise and he sounds like a lot of fun :) I'm sure he'd be very honored to have such a delicious salad named after him!

[arfi]

That looks delicious kofta! I love it with Middle East's kind of salad. YUM!

[Werther]

I love garlic, thanks for the inspiration. Have to attempt something different this Christmas (not merely chuck some chops on the barbie)...

[Meeta]

syrie this really look sensational. i think besides the fact that this is lamb i love the generous use of garlic lol!

[ts of eatingclub vancouver]

So true. I sometimes can't distinguish between days of the week, or between weeks of the month... and even, between months of the year! Yikes.

[Micha .:. Scraping the Skillet]

I think Lamby has hit the nail on the head: we do the same things too much! I'm going to try and implement his advice in a more conscious way and see if it slows down this merry-go-round!

[Syrie]

Thanks Marc. I know it’s a total blur. I can’t believe I’m planning stuff for 2009 already! Have a great holiday.

Thanks Mark. Hope you have a great Christmas with friend and family.
Cheers Arfi. Yes I’ve got a real things for Middle Eastern flavours.
Hi Werther, this is certainly a dish for garlic lovers! I think it’d be delish with chops too!
Thanks Meeta. I think garlic is the most used food item in my house. We go through buckets of it!
Hey TS, start doing something new. I have, just small stuff usually and it works!
Hey Micha, yes Lamby is a clever thing. Good luck! I’m doing it and it really works. Changes things around a bit and makes life more interesting no matter how small! Cheers.
Happy Hols everyone!

[ovenhaven]

I love the fact that you've got me wanting to eat this so badly, even though I don't eat lamb! I blame it on your gorgeous photography :P Hehe.

[eleonora]

Je passe pour vous souhaiter mes vœux par ce petit message, car je vais être absente pendant les fêtes.

Noël se nourrira de miel, de brioche et de lumière
Nous tremperons dans le bon café chaud la bûche
A la belle saveur de crème vanille et chocolat
Mille flocons de sucre glace tombent aux quatre coins de l’hiver
Et la maisonnée rêve à tous tes cadeaux, beau Père Noël.
Pour cette nouvelle année, Je n'ai que quelques vœux à formuler : La joie, le bonheur, l'amour et, bien sûr, la santé !
Que ces jours de festivités vous enveloppent de joie de vivre ! Et, que celle-ci se poursuive tout au long des mois qui viendront égayer vos jours de soleil.
Joyeux Noël,
Bonne et Heureuse année 2009 !

[LOLfitness]

I made this yesterday (just the kofta balls, though). It was pretty good! Thanks for the recipe :)

[Elle]

Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I made it today and it was really wonderful. My husband said he could taste the love :) Definitely one of our top 5 favorite meals. Simply scrumptious!

[Rose low carb addict]

Just found your site by accident, my whole family loves kofta, its a great tasting food with lots of Middle East flavors. And it works well for low card south beach diets too.

[How to detox]

Oh man - my mouth's water already just reading your recipe. Lamb is my favorite meat, and like you I adore Lebanese dishes - so this recipe hits all my hot buttons - I think we'll be eating lamb kofta this weekend in our house - yummy :o)
Kym

[brat diet]

Great diet! i will try it.

[Candy]

My husband and I had kofta (in shish kebob style) from a Lebanese restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan. We figured it was about as authentic as it gets since Dearborn has a middle eastern population near 90%! It's a great place to get the authentic flavors of the region. Anyway, we made kofta the other night at home and it was too near a regular meatball flavor. This recipe we will try, and I fell upon your blog when I did a search for the delicious garlic sauce that we loved so much on our kofta.
Thanks for including the picture too. It looks soo good. Can't wait to try it and check in to let you know what we think.
Thanks. Candy in Michigan.

[lauren]

I believe that time seems to pass faster with each successive year because every year is a smaller part of your entire life-to-date. That said, I'd better hurry, there's so much to cook and eat and ever-lessening time!

I've run across your blog quite a few times... thanks for the recipes!

[dieting for dummies]

Great recipes. There are several that I will have to try. Thanks for the info.

[Eat Smart Age Smart]

Thanks for sharing the mouth watering recipe. I cooked it last night and it was simply fabulous. I could not believe the flavor.. Awesome! Moreover, it wasn't too hard to make, just a lot of ingredients to take care of. But well worth it. I'll definitely be making these again!

[Body Detox]

Great recipe! I'll definitely include this refreshing dish into my detox diet. Thank you.

[Cherine]

oohhh this looks delicious. I love your blog. Just landed here by mistake... I am lebanese too and i'm glad that you love lebanese food :)
Cheers

[Rotisserie Chicken Recipe]

This looks absolutely delicious…I`m bookmarking this already.

[Heidi Marsden]

Even though you are 'healthy' this does not mean that you don't need to detox. Sure our body does this on a continual basis, our kidneys and livers are constantly working by cleaning out all the pollutants (smoke, caffeine, chemical-based products etc) in our body. Detox strengthen our organs back to optimal function. This is on helluva recipe! Sooo goood!!!