Lamb, dates and pistachios, a perfect match!
The date syrup in these means that they burn easily so I find it easiest to brown them in a pan and then finish off the cooking in the oven. They can also be cooked on the BBQ.
We have these with flat or pitta breads, lots of salad and Greek yogurt.
Cold koftas are great for school lunches, sliced in sandwiches or wraps or whole with some yogurt for dipping.
Makes 22-24 koftas.
Ingredients
100g dates, 50g roughly chopped, 50g finely diced
40mls boiling water
2 eggs
2 garlic cloves
100g pistachios, roughly chopped
small bunch parsley, leaves picked and chopped
large bunch coriander, leaves and stalks chopped
1kg minced lamb
salt and pepper
Method
Take 50g of dates, chop roughly and soak in the boiled water for 10 minutes.
Process the soaked dates, with the water, eggs and garlic until as smooth as you can get.
In a large bowl measure the lamb, pour over the date and garlic purée, that you have just made, the chopped pistachios, parsley, coriander, salt, pepper and the remaining finely diced dates.
Using your hands, mix very well.
Once you are ready to cook preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.
Heat a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat.
Take small handfuls of the meat and shape into koftas.
Cook the koftas in batches until well coloured but not cooked through.
Place them onto a baking sheet and continue to brown the koftas until they are all done.
Pop the koftas into the oven and bake for 20mins until cooked through.
Like the pistachio touch.
Thanks Chris, looks pretty too! 🙂 Ros
I am always looking for new ways to cook lamb. I will try these soon they sound excellent.
Thanks Cook Beautiful, hope you enjoy the koftas! 🙂 Ros
yum! I have just the quinoa dish to go with this.
Quinoa would be lovely with this Midnight Knitter, enjoy! 🙂 Ros
Wonderful idea, to add the dates in there! 🙂
Thanks Tasty Eats Ronit Penso, they make a nice change from prunes! 🙂 Ros
Looks verry tasteful!
Thanks bbqbastard! 🙂 Ros
Sounds fantastic Ros – by date syrup do you mean the soaking water or is that another ingredient?
Oops, good point Beck, I mean the syrup that you make with half of the dates. I’ll go back and correct it! Thanks for pointing it out!!! 🙂 Ros
Perhaps just call it ‘date puree’? I think it was just the syrup bit that threw me….
Wow Ros – love the pistachios with the lamb and yes the addition of dates must take these to another level!
Thanks Laura, that’s really kind 🙂 Ros
hi ! Dates, Coriander, pistachios and lamb really sounds interesting together. raisins and lamb is very common so this was interesting. I am sure this tastes fantastic and cook it until it burns a little I like here.
Thanks for sharing
Oli
My pleasure Oli, glad you like the idea of dates. 🙂 Ros
They look wonderful – will definitely be giving them a try! (plus I can eat any spare dates ^-^ ) How many koftas would you recommend per person?
Hi Charlotte, we have 3-4 each with salad and flat breads. Hope that helps 🙂 Ros
Hi Ros, that’s great – thanks for your help ^-^ can’t wait to give them a go!
I’m making theses tonight!
Enjoy firemoonrage! 🙂 Ros
delicious!
Sounds great! Very nice combination of flavors
Thanks for the ping back cook beautiful! 🙂 Ros
Hello, your kofta looks much more appetising than mine…well done! Good to see another Aussie mummy is into easy, tasty family friendly food. I hope we can share more of these recipes in the future. Happy cooking 🙂
Oh thanks Nadia! Love sharing recipes, hence the blog! 🙂 Ros