Turkey Koftas

Koftas are a street food common in many countries from the Middle East to Asia. They are made with everything from lamb to beef or fish and chicken. I have made mine with ground turkey. Grilled quickly and served with a salad and some Tzatziki (pronounced Tzad-Zeeky not Taz-eeky) they made the perfect lunch today. This recipe is prefect for 2 people but can easily be increased for a larger crowd.

You will need:

• 1/2 lb. ground turkey (if you can get a mix of dark and white it will stay moist more than breast meat alone)
• 2 cloves garlic - crushed
• 1 small onion - grated
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro- chopped fine
• 1 tbsp fresh Italian/flat parsley - chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• olive oil to drizzle and coat for grilling

Tzatziki recipe follows

Step 1: place turkey in a bowl. Add crushed garlic and grate 1 small onion into bowl.

Step 2: chop fresh cilantro and parsley and add to bowl. 

Step 3: add all spices and mix well. 

Step 4: form into 3-4 logs and press meat around skewers. Drizzle with olive oil and heat grill.

Step 5: grill on medium heat you can also squeeze some lemon juice over them while cooking.

Serve with mixed green salad and tzatziki.

Tzatziki

• 1 small individual container of plain Greek yogurt (170 grams)
• 1 mini cucumber- grated and squeezed in paper towel to remove water = 1/2 cup English cucumber once grated
• 1 clove garlic- crushed
• 1/2 lemon -zest and juice
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley - chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp dried mint
• 1/2 tsp dried dill (you can certainly use fresh herbs!)
• salt/pepper to taste
• best quality olive oil to drizzle

grate on box grater and squeeze in paper towels to remove most of water

Finish with a drizzle of your best Greek olive oil!