A smoky Turkish classic: spiced minced lamb shaped onto skewers and grilled until charred outside and juicy within, fragrant with red pepper paste and pul biber.
- 2 large Romano Pepper
- 800g Lamb Mince
- 3 tablespoons Red Pepper Paste
- 1 tablespoon Pul Biber
- 3 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
Video
Preparation
- Blitz the Romano peppers in a food processor until finely chopped, then tip them into a sieve and press firmly to squeeze out all their juices.
- Add the drained peppers to a bowl with the lamb mince, red pepper paste, pul biber, 1½ tsp flaky sea salt and 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil.
- Knead everything together well for at least 2–3 minutes, wetting your hands with cold water if it starts to stick — the mixture is ready when it turns sticky.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 12, to let the flavours develop and the mixture firm up.
- When you're ready to cook, heat your grill to high, or an oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6.
- Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions of around 85g each; if you'd rather skewer them, split it into 8 portions and roll into balls instead.
- With wet hands, press a ball onto the end of a skewer and massage the meat down its length between your palms, keeping it tightly and evenly wrapped with no metal showing.
- No skewers? Simply lay the köfte on a baking tray lined with parchment for the oven, or foil for the grill.
- Shape each one into a long köfte about 20cm in length, then dampen your fingers and press indents along its length for that traditional ridged look.
- Brush each köfte with the last tablespoon of oil.
- Grill on the top shelf for 10–12 minutes, turning regularly, or bake for 16–18 minutes, until crisp and charred outside and juicy in the middle.
