Tire Kofte

The famous meatballs of Tire, İzmir: grilled kofte on crisp bread cubes with tomato sauce, yogurt and sizzling butter, served with charred peppers and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 500 g ground beef (20% fat)
• 60 g (1 small) onion
• 9 g (1½ tsp) salt
• 2 g (1 tsp) black pepper
• 2 g (1 tsp) ground cumin
• 200 g stale white bread (or pide)
• 30 g (1½ tbsp) tomato paste
• 150 g (⅔ cup) hot water
• 50 g (3½ tbsp) butter
• 300 g whole-milk yogurt
• 100 g (4-5) long green peppers
• 150 g (2 small) tomatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Grate the onion and lightly squeeze out the juice. Knead the ground beef with the onion, 1 tsp of the salt, the pepper and cumin for 5-6 minutes; chill for 20 minutes.

2. 2

   Cut the bread into 2 cm cubes and toast in a preheated 200 °C oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp; divide among serving plates.

3. 3

   Pinch off walnut-size pieces of the meat and roll into long finger-shaped kofte.

4. 4

   Heat a cast-iron grill pan over high heat; char the peppers and halved tomatoes for 6-8 minutes and set aside. Grill the kofte in the same pan for 4-5 minutes per side until browned and cooked through.

5. 5

   Melt half the butter in a small pot, fry the tomato paste for 1 minute, add the hot water and remaining salt and boil for 3-4 minutes.

6. 6

   Spoon half the sauce over the bread, arrange the kofte on top and pour over the rest. Add the yogurt alongside, sizzle the remaining butter and drizzle it over; serve at once with the charred peppers and tomatoes.

Nutrition

Per serving