Burghul köfte with garlic yoghurt
Welcome to Fellah Köfte! With roots in Turkish and MIddle Eastern cuisine, it’s a humble kind of a dish using everyday staples that would traditionally have been super-cheap, and constantly on hand. Depending on how much burghul and semolina cost in your vicino, it’s still a pretty cheap meal to make and if you can get Turkish pepper paste, all the better. But if you can’t, just amp up the tomato paste; while it won’t taste the same, the dish will still be good. Kind of like little ‘dumplings’, these köfte are not unlike gnocchi in concept, although they have way more texture and a totally different flavour, obv. They’re served with either a tomato-y or a yoghurt-based sauce, maybe with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and/or a slick of EVOO to finish, plus a shower of a fresh herb such as mint. We love them. They’re filling, nutritious and kind of fun to make too.
SERVES 4-6
350g (2 cups) fine burghul
500ml (2 cups) luke-warm water
95g (½ cup) fine semolina
50g (⅓ cup) plain flour
1½ tsp ground cumin
2½ tbsp Turkish pepper paste, or tomato paste
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp black pepper
375g (1½ cups) Greek yoghurt
3 garlic cloves, finely minced or chopped
mint leaves, to garnish
Tomato-Mint Sauce
60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp dried mint
2 tsp caster sugar
2½ tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Turkish pepper paste, or extra tomato paste
500ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
1 x 400ml can tomato polpa or puree
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, or to taste
For the tomato-mint sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes or until softened. Add the paprika, mint, sugar, tomato and pepper pastes, then stir for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the stock, polpa and pomegranate molasses. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes – the sauce should be smooth and lightly coat the spoon. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
For the burghul köfte, put the burghul in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, add half the water, then stand for 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, line a large tray with baking paper. Add the semolina, flour, cumin, pepper paste, salt and pepper to the burghul. Mix slowly while adding the remaining water, then continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and feels a little elastic. Alternatively, you can mix the dough by hand, then knead it in the bowl using your hands for about 10 minutes. Take heaped teaspoons of the mixture and use your hands to roll each into a ball, then place on the lined tray. Use the tip of your little finger to make an indentation in the top of each as you roll them. Stir the yoghurt and garlic together in a bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook half the köfte in the boiling water for 3-4 minutes or until tender, stirring them gently several times with a large metal spoon to keep them separate. Remove to the sauce using a slotted spoon, then cook the remaining köfte. Divide among large bowls, spoon over the garlic yoghurt, scatter with mint leaves, then serve.
