Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Palestinian Meatloaf: Lamb Kefta, Two Ways




  

Kefta is meatloaf, really.  Ground meats, mixed with seasonings by hand, pressed into a dish, smothered in sauce.  There are differences, of course.  Instead of beef, pork and veal, we use lamb and beef.  Instead of bread crumbs, we use minced parsley.  The lamb is spiced with cinnamon and allspice.  On top, we skip the ketchup and pour a creamy tahini and lemon sauce, and sprinkle with pine nuts. Or, if you are in the mood for tomatoes, we pour a little tomato sauce and arrange sliced fresh tomatoes.

I remember the first time my mother explained kefta to an American family:  your loaves of bread are high, and so that is how you make meatloaf.  Our loaves of bread are flat, and so that is how we make meatloaf. 

Kefta is often served with rice, with some of the sauce spooned over.  A salad, or other vegetables are served on the side.  But just like American meatloaf, it is also often eaten in a sandwich, folded into Arabic bread with some more salad. 

Kefta is delicious comfort food, kid-friendly, and so easy to make. This was the first Arabic dish that I learned to make when I was a new cook, and one of the first Arabic dishes that I served my children.





Kefta


Meat Mixture

2 lbs pastured ground lamb and/or ground beef (I prefer a mix)
1 large bunch parsley, finely minced
1 large onion, finely minced
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice

Tahini Sauce

3/4 cup unsalted tahini
1 tsp salt
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup water
1/4 cup pine nuts
OR

Tomato Sauce

1 cup tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, optional
Fresh tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  In a large bowl, combine meat, parsley, onion and spices.  Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. 

Pat into a medium casserole dish (8x12) and flatten with a spatula until smooth.  Using the bottom of a spatula, score the meat in a grid pattern so that meat can easily be cut into portions later.  If you wish, you can also decorate by adding additional scores in a criss-cross pattern. 

If you are using the tomato topping, mix up the sauce and pour it over the meat, then arrange tomato slices on top.  Sprinkle with a little extra salt and pepper, and pine nuts, if you like.  Bake at 400 F for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until done.

If you are using the tahini sauce topping, bake your kefta without the sauce for thirty minutes.  Pull your kefta from the oven and drain the fat from the dish (reserve this fat and use it for something else -like cooking your rice).  To prepare the tahini sauce:  whisk tahini, salt, lemon juice and water until smooth.  Pour over kefta and sprinkle with pine nuts.  Bake an additional 20 minutes or so, until sauce is thick and bubbly.  Broil for 2-3 minutes until pine nuts are golden brown.
Let sit for a few minutes before serving.  The sauce will thicken upon cooling. 

Sahtain.
This is an Arabic blessing, spoken by any host after a meal, a reply given after a guest has thanked you for her food.  It's literal translation is "double health," and this blessing expresses the wish that the food you have eaten will increase your health. 






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9 comments:

  1. This looks wonderful! Found you through Real Food Wednesdays. I love seeing the traditional foods culture of Palestinian food!

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  2. Just found your site through Food Renegade's link-up, and I love the recipes you are posting here! They all sound delicious, especially this meatloaf. I think my family would love it. Thank you for sharing your recipes and heritage!

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  3. It is my pleasure, believe me! I am honored to have you visit. I hope you enjoy these recipes.

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  4. It is Memorial day and instead of grilling burgers, I made this wonderful recipe. I'm so happy to tell you that it came out delicious! And it looked just like the picture, too! :-) I only made a couple changes--I just used beef, because my husband and I don't care for lamb, and I used a mixture of walnuts and peanuts because pine nuts are super expensive. Thank you so much--I really enjoy your blog.

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    1. I am so glad that you liked it! I often make it with beef, too. Pine nuts are very expensive, both here and back home, which is why they are often used when serving guests, as a special treat. Otherwise, for they use toasted almond pieces, which are also tasty.

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  5. How do you use the fat for cooking your rice? When I cook jasmine rice I always follow this recipe from the Seductions of Rice cookbook:

    1.5 c rice
    1.75 c water

    Put both in the bot and bring just to the boil, then cover and turn down to simmer for 15 minutes. Don't stir or remove the lid during this time. Then remove from heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. Strictly covered. When the 5 minutes are up, then fluff and enjoy.

    I know fat makes everything taste better (and for someone who loves cooking as much as I do I could still put on a few pounds, so I'm totally not concerned about the potential fat increase) I am just intrigued.

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  6. Hello and thankyou so much for your recipes, you've made my Palestinian husband very happy. I was wondering though if you are also able to include which side dishes are usually served with each recipe? Being an Australian learning about Palestinian/Jordan food this would be so much help me. Thanks again :D

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    1. Oh, I am glad your family is enjoying these recipes. Are you able to find these ingredients in Australia? I am sure your lamb is superb. I usually do include the side dishes to serve meals with, in the body of the blog post. If you look above, you will find it. :-) But really, almost every Palestinian dish is served with a chopped fresh salad and either bread or rice (or even both). Stews are always served over rice. I'll be sure to continue to include the side dishes!

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    2. Oh, I am glad your family is enjoying these recipes. Are you able to find these ingredients in Australia? I am sure your lamb is superb. I usually do include the side dishes to serve meals with, in the body of the blog post. If you look above, you will find it. :-) But really, almost every Palestinian dish is served with a chopped fresh salad and either bread or rice (or even both). Stews are always served over rice. I'll be sure to continue to include the side dishes!

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