Tekirdag Koftesi (Kofte of Tekirdag)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef (no more than 8% fat)
• 1/2 packet sugar
• 1 large egg
• salt & black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion (or equivalent)
• virgin olive oil (lubricant while forming the Kofte)
• 1 cup fresh minced parseley
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 oz (by volume) sweet leaf basil
• 1 teaspoon mint
• 1 teaspoon oregano

Directions

Put the breadcrumbs into a food processor and run until the texture is nearly like flour. Chop the onion and parsely. Add the onion, parseley, basil, mint, oregano, and sugar into the food processor and run until the mixture is well mixed and has a consistent texure. Stop before making a homogenous paste; the various ingredients should still be visible as particles in the mixture.

On an approriate surface or in a large bowl, hand mix (knead) the uncooked ground beef, the whole contents of the egg, and the mixture from the food processor. Add salt and black pepper at this time… it shouldn’t need much. Actually, if you’ve got a large enough food processor, you could try using that to mix everything: it might give a finer texture that would be even more like the real thing.

To form the Kofte, place a little olive oil in a small bowl so that you can wet your fingers easily. Roll small amounts of the mixture between your hands to form Kofte about 3″-4″ long and 3/4″ diameter. Once each Kofte is formed, dip your fingers in the oil and lightly coat the outside of the Kofte with oil to keep them from sticking to each other before cooking.

Cooking is best done using high heat on a grill. Kofte cook very quickly and taste best hot from the grill, so make only as much as you need and refridgerate the rest — it is quick to make more as you need it. Refridgerated Kofte should not be kept for more than a day or so, but they also can be frozen for extended storage.