Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Spicy lamb koftas with hummus and tzatziki

This recipe is perfect for the barbecue, but can also be made in a pan on the hob if you prefer

The sun is splitting the stones and it is definitely the kind of weather where dinner is best eaten outdoors. I have another recipe for you this week that is perfect for the barbecue, but which can also be made in a pan on the hob if you prefer. The forecast is saying it might rain at the weekend, which would be both a shame and a relief. A shower lasting no more than an hour at about 4pm on Saturday would be perfect please; just in time to cool things down a little before lighting up the barbecue for an early dinner. If the weather does turn nasty, you can still make these indoors of course.

These Spiced Lamb Koftas are simple to make and perfect for a lazy weekend dinner. You can make them in advance and pop them in the fridge before taking them out in time for dinner. They only take minutes to cook, so this really is fast food. The spice is not the hot variety, there is not a lot of chilli in this recipe, instead it features the warm, earthy flavours of cumin, coriander seed, clove, and cinnamon. If you would like more heat, just increase the quantity of chilli flakes. My hummus recipe also only takes a few minutes to make, and again, you can prepare that in advance. I highly recommend the tzatziki with these. The creamy sharpness and freshness of yoghurt, mint, and lemon cuts through the fat of the spiced lamb beautifully. Make the tzatziki fresh just before serving it, but again, it takes just minutes to put together.

If you fancy spending a little more time in the kitchen, make your own flatbreads. I have previously shared a recipe for a lovely parsley flatbread here in this column, and the recipe is available on IE Food. Again, these are simple to make, and worth the little bit of effort, or you could just use some shop bought pittas or flatbreads if you prefer.

Spicy lamb koftas with hummus and tzatziki

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

These spiced lamb koftas are simple to make and perfect for a lazy weekend dinner. You can make them in advance and pop them in the fridge before taking them out in time for dinner. They only take minutes to cook, so this really is fast food

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 8 mins

Total Time

 18 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the koftas:

• 450g minced lamb

• 1 onion

• 2 garlic cloves, grated 

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 

• 2 tsp ground coriander

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp chilli flakes

• ½ tsp ground cloves

• ¾ tsp flaky sea salt

• fresh ground black pepper

• 20g flat leaf parsley

• 20g fresh mint

• zest of ½ lemon

• For the hummus:

• 400g tin of chickpeas

• 80g Greek yoghurt

• 1 tbsp tahini

• 30ml olive oil

• 1 garlic clove

• juice of ½ lemon

• ½ tsp salt

• ¾ tsp sweet paprika

• good grind of black pepper

• For the tzatziki:

• 300g Greek yoghurt,

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• ½ tsp sugar

• ½ cucumber

• 20g mint, freshly chopped

Method

1. First, make your koftas. Chop the herbs and very finely chop or grate the onion. I find my food processor is perfect for this and it only takes a few moments. I roughly chop the onion and garlic and then pulse them in the processor until they are very fine. Put that and all the other ingredients for your koftas in a big bowl and use your hands to combine everything together. Mix it well but do not overwork it or they will be tough and a little rubbery when cooked.

2. Next, shape your koftas. This is quite easy to do. Just take some of the mix and roll it into a golf ball sized sphere. Now shape into an oval or rugby ball shape, about forty grams in weight. You will get about sixteen to eighteen from this recipe. If you would prefer your koftas on skewers and want to cook these on your barbecue, simply form the meat around wooden or metal skewers. Divide the mixture across about eight skewers in total, which is perfect for four servings. If you use wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least thirty minutes before using them so that they do not burn on the barbecue. When you have shaped your koftas, cover them and pop them into the fridge until you are ready to cook, but do chill them for at least thirty minutes.

3. Now make your hummus.

4. Drain the chickpeas and put them and the rest of the ingredients into a food processor. Blitz until smooth. Season to taste, adding a little more yoghurt or a tablespoon of very cold water if you need to thin the hummus a little. Set aside until needed.

5. Make the tzatziki.

6. Dice the cucumber and pop it into a bowl along with the other ingredients. Stir to combine and pop in the fridge until you are ready to serve. This tastes best when freshly made, so make it just before cooking your koftas.

7. Time now to cook the koftas. Heat a heavy based frying pan over a high heat. When it is good and hot, add just a little rapeseed oil and reduce the heat to medium. Put on the koftas. Cook them for about eight minutes, turning over regularly until brown all over and cooked through.

8. If you are cooking them on your barbecue, get the coals glowing white before popping on the skewers. Cook them for six to eight minutes turning them regularly until they are cooked through.

9. Make up a simple green salad of crisp lettuce and cucumber, add a few cherry tomatoes if you fancy them. Dress that with just a little extra virgin olive oil and some lemon juice.

10. Now plate up. Serve four or five koftas, or two skewers, per person, along with some flat breads or pitta, your hummus, freshly made tzatziki and the salad.