Turkey kofte

Ingredients

• TURKEY KOFTE
• 1 large courgette
• 2 spring onions
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 50 g shelled pistachios
• 3 sprigs of fresh coriander
• 3 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 sprigs of fresh mint
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 large free-range egg
• 500 g free-range minced turkey
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• CHILLI SAUCE
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 2 small onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 fresh red chillies
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• TAHINI YOGHURT
• 250 g Greek yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 squeeze of lemon juice
• TURKISH PILAV
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 200 g bulgur wheat
• 400 ml hot organic chicken stock
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• 80 g broken rice vermicelli
• 100 g tinned chickpeas (drained weight)

Method

1. Finely grate the courgette, trim and finely chop the spring onions and green chilli, then chop the pistachios. Pick and finely chop all the fresh herbs.
2. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until smelling fantastic. Meanwhile, lightly beat the egg.
3. Mix all the kofte ingredients together in a large bowl, keeping some pistachios back to garnish, then season well.
4. With wet hands, form 16 kofte, each the size and shape of a small egg. Leave in the fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes, then thread onto metal skewers, two kofte on each.
5. Cook the kofte under a grill or over a flame charcoal grill, on high for 12 minutes, until juicy, golden brown and cooked through, turning regularly.
6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4.
7. To make the chilli sauce, halve the tomatoes and onions (there’s no need to peel), and bash the unpeeled garlic cloves.
8. Place the red chillies, tomatoes, onions and garlic on a baking tray. Drizzle with oil and season, then roast for 25 minutes or until soft and slightly blackened.
9. Allow to cool slightly, then carefully remove and discard the stalks from the chillies, the cores from the tomatoes and the skins from the onions and garlic.
10. Add to a food processor, along with the sugar, tomato purée and vinegar. Blitz until smooth and add a lug of oil to make it glossy. Pulse again, then season.
11. For the tahini yoghurt, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and season with a pinch each of sea salt and black pepper.
12. To make the pilav, peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Add a lug of oil to a non-stick pan over a medium-low heat, then sweat the onion and garlic for 10 minutes. Add the bulgur and stir to coat.
13. Pour in the stock, bring it to the boil, then turn down the heat to very low. Cover with a lid and steam the bulgur for 8 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter and cook the vermicelli until the butter turns golden brown.
15. After 8 minutes, add it to the bulgur along with the chickpeas – don’t stir at any point, just replace the cloth and lid and let it steam for another 8 minutes.
16. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes – you should end up with a beautifully light and fluffy pilav.
17. Serve the kofte accompanied by the pilav, chilli sauce and tahini yoghurt, then finish scattered with the reserved pistachios.

Source: Jamie Oliver