It’s time for Turkish cuisine again. Today: Eggplant (Patlican) – Köfte.
This dish can be found in many different forms. Anything that tastes good is allowed and we just want to introduce you to the idea of the composition and a variation that we find particularly beautiful and delicious.
It all started at the greengrocer’s, who had some very nice aubergines, bell peppers and tomatoes on offer.
The dish can of course be prepared without meat, but today we opt for the original version, which includes minced lamb or beef or a mixture of the two.
We used 800 grams of meat for 6 servings, but the quantities in this recipe refer to the half, i.e. 400 grams of meat.
Here is some more information on processing meat for Köfte.
First season the meat with a teaspoon each of salt (5 grams), black pepper, ground cumin and ground coriander seeds. Optionally, you can also season with a little allspice, cinnamon and/or sumac. You can also add sweet paprika powder or chilli flakes (“pul biber”) for spiciness. Feel free to modify and find your favourite mixture.
Now we add a medium-sized grated onion and two grated cloves of garlic. Do not chop the onion, but grate it finely. The onion juice that comes out is important for the consistency and flavour of your Köfte.
The whole thing must now be mixed and, above all, kneaded. This can only be done really well by hand. You have to knead the mass very vigorously until the meat changes its structure and gets a binding. You can see and feel it. This is crucial because Turkish Köfte are not usually bound by adding egg, but they also shouldn’t fall apart later. Expect not less than 6 and up to 10 minutes of manual work at this stage.
Now we wash the aubergines, cut off the stem and tip and slice them approx. 1.5 – 2 cm thick.
We like to add bell peppers, red and yellow ones. They are also cut into large pieces.
We cut the tomatoes in half, remove the stalk and then cut them into 6 – 8 pieces per half.
We also cut onions into thick rings, but that is optional.
After all this is prepared, we take our meat out of the fridge and form flat Köfte that are about the diameter of our vegetable slices.
Then we build small sandwiches, each with a different vegetable and a meat patty in the middle.
You need an ovenproof dish with a lid. We pour some olive oil into it and arrange our sandwiches vertically.
This is how you continue to work your way through the shape of your cookware.
Finally, we spread pieces of tomatoes and any leftover vegetables all over it.
Now we put as much water in a pot as our cooking vessel can hold and salt it to a pleasant taste. We bring it to a gentle boil and stir in tomato paste with a whisk until this taste is also pleasant for us. In Turkish cuisine, a mixture of tomato paste and paprika paste is also often used for this.
We pour the finished sauce over our little work of art.
Now put a lid on and cook everything for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven at 200 degrees (fan oven 180 degrees).
Then cook the dish for another at least 30 minutes without the lid.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 3 people):
400 – 500 g minced beef and / or lamb
1 onion grated
2 cloves garlic grated
Salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander
Optional spices: Allspice, cinnamon, sumac paprika powder, chilli pul beaver
2 -3 aubergines
2 bell peppers or other vegetables of your choice
Optional: 1 – 2 onions
3 – 4 tomatoes
Some tomato paste
Optional: Paprika paste
