Izmir Köftes

Name: Izmir Köftes
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Turkey
Ingredients: 1 egg; ¼ cup water; 3 slices brown bread, crusts removed; ½ cup water; salt and pepper to taste; 1 Tbsp tomato purée; medium fat yoghurt for serving; 16 pitted green olives; 1–2 rounds feta, cut into 1cm cubes; olive oil for frying; 500 g minced beef or lamb; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 × 400 g can chopped tomatoes; 1 Tbsp dried origanum; 1 Tbsp ground cumin; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; cake flour for coating

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

All Sorts of Healthy Dishes

By Chantal Lascaris

Published 2017

About

THIS DISH CONJURES UP ROMANTIC IMAGES OF TURKEY, A LAND WHERE MEATBALLS ARE MADE WITH EITHER MINCED LAMB OR A COMBINATION OF LAMB AND BEEF. THE END RESULT IS KNOWN AS ‘KÖFTE’ (ALSO SPELT ‘KOFTA’). KÖFTES COME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES AND ARE COOKED IN DIFFERENT WAYS. IN THIS RECIPE I’VE FOLLOWED THE IZMIR KÖFTES STYLE, A TOWN RENOWNED FOR ITS MEATBALLS, WHICH CALLS FOR THEM TO BE FRIED FIRST AND THEN COOKED IN A TOMATO SAUCE. THEY ARE TRADITIONALLY SERVED WITH CACIK, WH