Kafta - Lebanese Minced Meat Skewers with Parsley and Onion
Mince, onion and a great deal of parsley are kneaded by hand into a paste and pressed around the skewer. No egg, no bread - the binding comes from the kneading alone.
Why this dish is good for you
60 g of raw parsley bring vitamin K, vitamin C and iron to a dish that would otherwise be only meat - and the vitamin C helps the body absorb the plant iron too. Without bread or egg, a serving stays at about 5 g of carbohydrate.
Ingredients
- Ground beef(traditionally lamb)500 g
- Onion(very finely grated and squeezed out)150 g
- Parsley(finely cut)60 g
- Cumin3 g
- Cinnamon(unusual in meat, but typical here)1 g
- Salt5 g
- Black Pepper1 g
Method
- 1
Grate the onion very finely and wring it out hard in a cloth. Throw the liquid away - it would slacken the mixture.
- 2
Cut the parsley fine and combine it with the mince, onion, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- 3
Knead the mixture by hand for five minutes until it sticks together and pulls away from the bowl. This replaces egg and breadcrumbs.
- 4
Chill for an hour.
- 5
With damp hands shape eight long rolls and press them firmly around flat skewers. Without skewers they work equally well as flat patties.
- 6
Grill or use a griddle pan over high heat for six to eight minutes, turning twice.
- 7
Serve with tabbouleh, flatbread and yoghurt.
🧆 Warum Kafta ohne Ei hält
As you knead, the salt draws the muscle proteins myosin and actin out of the fibres. They interlock into a network that sets on cooking - the same principle behind an emulsified sausage. Egg would only get in the way.
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