Middle Eastern Baked Kufta

My blog’s two year anniversary was just the other day. Where does the time go? It makes me so happy to share a part of me with all of you. This recipe is influenced by my mama but has my special touches! You can say that Kufta is a staple in Middle Eastern households. It is made at least a few times a month in different forms. Sometimes grilled, sometimes baked with veggies or even in a tahini sauce. This recipe is really easy to put together and makes for a delicious meal with rice and salad. I promise this will be a recipe on rotation in your household!

Servings: approx. 20 kuftas

Total Time: approx. 1 hour 15 min

Ingredients

2 lbs of ground beef (85/15)

1 cup of parsley

2 garlic cloves

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 an onion

1/2 a red bell pepper

1-2 tbsp allspice or seven spice

In a food processor, blend the bell pepper, garlic, onion, and parsley until fine.

Add that mixture to the ground beef. Season generously with salt and pepper. Also, add the allspice and mix all together. Do not overwork the meat.

Take a handful of the meat and shape using the palm of your hands into what looks like a small chubby sausage! I think they look like mini footballs! You can shape them however you like though.

Veggie Ingredients

2 small potatoes cut into thin slices

1 onion cut into slices

1 bell pepper cut into slices

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp olive oil

2 halved garlic cloves

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. To that, mix in the veggies and toss. Let them get coated well with this mixture.

In the desired nonstick baking pan, stack the koftas with veggies in between. Top with some slices of bell pepper too.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake covered on 375 F for 45 minutes and 15 minutes uncovered. Enjoy with some bread or rice!