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Open Beef Kofta
Segment: Beef Recipes
Guest Chef: George Calombaris
MasterChef Australia 2009 Open Beef Kofta
Ingredients
1 tbs coriander seeds
1 tbs cumin seeds
4 French shallots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 bunch coriander
500g topside beef mince
1 lemon, rind finely grated
1 egg
5 tbs soft white breadcrumbs
1 tbs seeded mustard
1 piece pita bread
? small red onion, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt
2 baby cucumbers
Thick Greek yoghurt, coriander sprigs & deep fried shallots, to serve


Makes 1 (serves 2)

Method

1. Spoon coriander and cumin seeds into a frying pan and toast over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Tip into a mortar and use pestle to finely grind the warm spices.


2. Cover base of frying pan with olive oil and add shallots and garlic, cook over low heat until soft and translucent. Spoon into a bowl and refrigerate until cold. Wash coriander root well then finely chop 6cm of the root and stem, set top half of the bunch aside for later.


3. Combine mince, lemon rind, egg, breadcrumbs, mustard, shallot and garlic mixture, spices and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use clean hands to mix until well combined. Preheat oven grill to medium-high.


4. Press beef mixture onto a 22cm round flat bread, leaving a 1cm border around the outer edge. Heat a little oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat, add pita bread and cook 1 minute. Transfer the pan to the oven and grill 4-5 minutes until just cooked through. Remove from the oven. Check the under-side of the bread is golden and crisp if not cook a few minutes on the stove top over high heat.


5. Meanwhile, finely slice the onion into a bowl using a mandolin. Season with salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Thinly slice the cucumbers on the angle and place into a bowl. Season with salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.


6. Remove the kofta from the pan. Spread generously with yoghurt. Top with onion salad, cucumber, coriander sprigs and deep fried shallots to serve.


I actually used Light Tzaiki instead of yogurt and turkish break instead of pita. I didnt have any salad onion and i used preground herbs because i had them BUT it was delicious!!!!!

Recipes for Shaker lemon pie tell you to slice the lemons "paper-thin." I have learned through repeated trial and error that if you slice lemons to paper thinness, you will get paper-thin slices of peel and a mess of juice. I have tried using a sharpened chef's knife, a serrated knife, a mandolin and a carbon-steel Chinese cleaver, and the results have always been the same. It just dawned on me today that the reason for this is that the lemon vesicles (i.e. the little "bulbs" that hold the juice) are not paper-thin themselves. So I've relaxed a little bit. I aim for a thickness of at least 1/16" but less than 1/8", and let the sugar take care of the rest.