Kefte (Kofta)

Picture of Kefte (Kofta) with salad on the side

This is a favorite Lebanese recipe. It can be made with ground lamb or ground beef, but for this recipe here we used beef. Its cooking method is also versatile. It can be grilled on an outdoor grill, baked in the oven or fried on top of the stove. Let me also instruct that there is a difference between a cup of something, chopped, and a chopped cup of something. True story: When I was a mother's helper back in the day, I thought I would impress the family with a tuna casserole topped with potato chips (yeah, I know, but that was the tuna casserole of yore). It called for a cup of potato chips, crushed. Instead, I put a cup of crushed potato chips. Never made that mistake again. Note that difference in my directions too! I also put in directions to add cumin, salt and pepper, but I also included a link for Lebanese 7-spice blend that has a few extra spices in it; you will still need to add salt.

Ingredients

GrannyKeto.com Recipes: Ingredients for Kefte (Kofta)

One pound of ground beef
(The higher the fat, the juicier the texture; the lower the fat, the less shrinkage. I used 85-15 for the calculations of this recipe but you can recalculate for the percentage you use, plus whether you have used lamb instead.)

1/2 cup of chopped parsley (this is about 1/2 of a large bunch, stems removed)

3/4 chopped white onion

1/3 cup of chopped tomatoes

1/3 cup of walnuts, chopped 

1/8 tsp each cumin, salt and black pepper

OR

1/8 tsp salt PLUS 1/4 tsp of Lebanese 7-spice powder

Directions

  1. Mix everything together.

  2. Shape into patties or sausage shape (as pictured).

  3. Grill, bake or fry. If you bake, turn on the broiler for a few minutes to brown the meat.

GrannyKeto.com Recipes: Ingredients for Kefte (Kofta)