Lamb and Pistachio Koftas

Inspired by my beloved Jamie and the Middle East of course, these delicious lamb wraps satisfied the budget as well as the family.  The koftas were the stand out but the sweet, tangy sumac-spiced onion and parsley salad gave it that little bit of authenticity. A Rat in a Shammy this is not!

This one is for you Benny!

Serves 6

500gm of lamb mince
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp of ground chilli
2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of paprika
1 tbs of sumac*
100gms of raw pistachios, lightly toasted
1/2 a bunch of thyme, leaves removed from stalks
Sea salt and cracked pepper
12 skewers, soaked in cold water
olive oil for frying

1 red onion, very finely sliced
1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs of sumac
1 cup of flat leaf parsley leaves, stalks removed and roughly chopped

Salad leaves
3 ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 eggplant, cut at 1cm intervals
olive oil for brushing
1 tub of store bought Hommus
Greek natural yoghurt to serve
6 lebanese flatbreads


Whizz up your toasted pistachios but not too much that they become a powder.  In a large bowl, combine all the kofta ingredients, except the skewers!  Season with salt and pepper and get your hands in there and make sure everything is really well combined.  Grab small handfuls and shape the mixture around each skewer so that you basically have a sausage on a stick.  Pop them on a plate and refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour.

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees and lay each eggplant slice on a lined baking tray.  Brush each side liberally with olive oil and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden.  You can do this in a pan but I find the eggplant soaks up too much oil.  The key is to make sure it is cooked properly.

In another bowl combine the onion, sumac, parsley and olive oil.  Mix well, season with salt and pepper and allow to marinate for a while.  The onion will go a beautiful hot pink colour!

Heat a large fry pan with a little olive oil and fry the koftas in batches.  Pop them in the oven on a low heat to keep warm.

Sprinkle the flatbreads with a little water and wrap them in foil.  Pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes until heated through.  They become nice and pliable heating them like this.

I love to serve this type of food in the middle of the table.  Spread a generous amount of hommus down the middle of the flatbread.  Top with salad leaves, eggplant, tomatoes and koftas (being the out-of-control-portion family, we had two on each flatbread!), drizzle with yoghurt and sprinkle the beautiful onion and parsley salad over the top.  Roll up your sleeves because this can get pretty messy!