Here's a handy use of leftover barbecued kofta or burgers: an easy Turkish pide. A little leftover meat goes a long way with the addition of pickles, red onion, lots of fresh herbs and a sprinkling of sumac. You could double up on the minty yoghurt dip that goes with the lamb kofta and serve that with the pide too.
This recipe does not make a truly authentic pide (also known as a Turkish pizza) - it would normally be made with a yeast bread dough. But the scone-like texture of my dough contrasts nicely with the crumbled lamb topping and means you can rustle this up in half an hour or so, a neat next-day lunch post barbecue.
Cook the kofta on a barbecue or a griddle and serve it with easy basmati and wild rice salad packed with tomatoes, spring onions and dill. I like to use various types of tomato, and baby cucumbers if they are available. You could also serve with a few lemon wedges on the side. I used four leftover skewers in the pide recipe (about 200g of meat), but this can be pretty loose depending on what you have leftover from the kofta base recipe.
Lamb kofta with a minty yoghurt dip and wild rice salad
Whizz up onions and spices and combine with minced lamb for a flavour-packed kofta, accompanied by minty yoghurt and a herbed wild rice salad. You will need 12 soaked bamboo sticks or metal skewers.
Makes 12 (serves 4)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 fresh green chilli, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 700g minced lamb
- small handful of chopped fresh parsley
- vegetable oil, for cooking
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
For the minty yoghurt dip
- 200g Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch cayenne pepper
- salt, to taste
For the herbed wild rice salad
- 150g basmati and wild rice
- ½ cucumber (or 4 baby cucumbers), chopped
- 200g tomatoes, chopped
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- small handful of chopped fresh dill
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Put the onion, garlic, chilli and ground spices in a food processor or blender and blend to make a paste. Tip the mixture into a bowl and add the minced lamb and chopped fresh parsley.
Mix to combine and then divide the mixture into 12 pieces, roll each piece into a long strip and then thread onto the skewers. Place on a plate and chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook the kofta.
For the minty yoghurt dip, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
For the herbed wild rice salad, put the basmati and wild rice in a heavy-based saucepan and add 500ml water.
Cover with a lid wrapped in a clean tea towel, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water immediately to cool. Combine the rice with the chopped cucumber, tomatoes and spring onion in a salad bowl, add the dill and mix well. Sprinkle the vinegar over and add salt, to taste. Set aside.
Preheat the barbecue to hot. Brush the kofta with vegetable oil and cook for about five minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve the kofta with the minty yoghurt dip, herbed wild rice salad on the side and, if you like, lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Easy Turkish pide
Make a cheat's dough for this 'Turkish pizza' with self-raising flour and milk, topped with crumbled leftover lamb kofta and served with pickles and herbs.
Makes 4
- 300g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- 200ml milk
- 200g leftover lamb kofta, crumbled into pieces
- 1 small red onion
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- pinch sugar
- small handful mixed chopped herbs such as parsley, coriander, mint and dill
- ½ tsp sumac
- salt, to taste
- pickled chillies, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and line a baking tray.
Combine the flour and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk and stir together to make a dough. Dust a work surface with a light sprinkling of flour, and divide the dough into four small balls.
Roll out each of the balls and, using your hands and with the help of a rolling pin, shape into a boat shape, so that the ends are pointed and the middle is wide. Lay the 'boats' on the lined baking tray. Sprinkle over the crumbled lamb, then fold in the edges so that they overlap the filling slightly.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
In the meantime, slice the red onion thinly and combine it with the vinegar, sugar and a little salt in a small bowl. Set aside until the pide is cooked.
To serve, top with the sliced red onion, sprinkle over the chopped mixed herbs and the sumac and serve with pickled chillies on the side.
About Ramona
Ramona Andrews is a highly experienced food writer and digital content producer. She worked for the BBC Food website for many years, during which time the site won a BAFTA nomination, World Food Media Award and Guild of Food Writers Award. After studying to be a chef, she went to work for the UKTV Food website (now Good Food Channel) and has also worked as a restaurant reviewer for Time Out and Square Meal. She now lives in Bristol and dedicates much of her time to working on food policy change campaigns, as well as keeping her hand in recipe testing and shooting for bigger food clients and publications in her kitchen studio. The Lazy Susan team are looking forward to giving the delicious recipes she’s creating for our blog a try.
