Cumin Lamb Kofta with Tahini and Shaved Kohlrabi
Hand-formed lamb kofta seared hard in a skillet, served over shaved kohlrabi and peppery arugula with a loose lemon tahini sauce spooned over the top.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
I make these on the days when lunch has to be interesting or I will not bother eating it. Kofta is the fastest way I know to get real flavor out of ground meat, because the spices go into the mixture and sit there while you shape it rather than being scattered over the top at the end. There is no breadcrumb in them and no egg, and nothing holds them together except lamb worked until it turns tacky. They cook in about ten minutes in one skillet, they are as good cold out of a container the next day as they are hot, and the sauce takes as long as it takes to stir tahini with lemon and water.
The step people get wrong is the mixing. Ground lamb needs a full minute of pressing and folding with your hands, well past the point where it feels finished, until it goes from crumbly to sticky and holds a shape when you squeeze it. That tackiness is the only binder in the recipe. The second thing is heat. Get the skillet hot enough that the kofta hiss the moment they land, then leave them completely alone for three or four minutes so a dark crust sets before you turn them. Cumin and coriander toast in the fat while that crust builds, and that is where most of the flavor in this dish actually comes from.
What makes it lunch rather than a plate of meatballs is the cold half. Kohlrabi shaved almost translucent is crisp and faintly sweet, closer to the heart of a cabbage than to anything else in the vegetable drawer, and the pepper in the arugula cuts straight through something as rich as lamb. The tahini sauce ties the two halves together. Lamb is dense enough that three kofta carry you through a long afternoon, and the tahini brings its own fat and a little calcium along with the sesame flavor. Leftovers go into a container with the sauce in a separate jar, because the leaves wilt within hours once anything wet touches them.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground lamb
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium kohlrabi (about 8 oz), peeled and shaved thin
- 4 packed cups arugula (about 4 oz)
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Instructions
- Work the meat: Put the ground lamb in a wide bowl with the cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, black pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and half the parsley. Mix with your hands for a full minute, pressing and folding, until the meat turns tacky and holds together when you squeeze a handful. Chill it for 10 minutes if your kitchen is warm.
- Shape the kofta: Divide the mixture into 12 pieces, about 2 ounces each, and roll each into a short oval roughly 3 inches long. Press them slightly flat so they meet the pan on a wide face. Wet hands keep the lamb from sticking and leave a smooth surface, which is what gives you an even crust.
- Stir the tahini sauce: Whisk the tahini and lemon juice together in a small bowl. It will seize and go pasty, which is normal. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, whisking after each, until it loosens into a pourable sauce about the thickness of heavy cream, then season it with a pinch of the remaining salt.
- Sear them hard: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the kofta in with space between them and leave them alone for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is deep brown. Turn once and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until the center reads 160°F (71°C).
- Build the plates: Put the arugula in a wide bowl and toss it with the shaved kohlrabi, the rest of the parsley, and the remaining salt. Divide it among four plates, set three kofta on each, spoon the tahini sauce over the top, and scatter the toasted sesame seeds over everything.
Variations
- Skewered and grilled: Press the mixture around flat metal skewers and grill over high heat for 4 minutes a side for a smokier version.
- Goat or beef: Ground goat or ground beef both take these spices well, though both want an extra spoonful of oil in the mixture.
- Herb-heavy: Fold chopped mint and extra parsley into the meat for a greener kofta that eats lighter in hot weather.
- Warm plate: Serve the kofta over roasted delicata squash rather than the raw salad when you want lunch warm all the way through.
- Sesame crust: Roll the shaped kofta in the sesame seeds before searing so the seeds toast into the crust.
Storage & Leftovers
The kofta keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, and they are one of the few things that taste as good cold as they do hot. Keep the tahini sauce in its own jar and leave the salad undressed, since arugula collapses within an hour or two of meeting anything wet.
To reheat, set them in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes a side so the crust comes back. A microwave works but softens the outside, so if that is the plan, spoon a little of the tahini sauce over them first and eat them warm rather than piping hot.
Raw shaped kofta freeze well, first spread on a tray and then packed into a bag, for up to 3 months. Cook them straight from frozen over medium heat, adding about 4 minutes and covering the pan for the last two. Cooked ones freeze too, though the crust never fully returns.
Notes & Tips
- Work the meat past comfortable: A full minute of mixing feels excessive and is the entire reason these hold together with no egg and no breadcrumbs.
- Wet your hands: Cold water on your palms stops the lamb sticking and leaves a smooth surface that browns evenly.
- Do not crowd the skillet: Kofta steam rather than sear when they touch, and the crust is where the flavor lives. Cook in two batches if your pan is small.
- Toast the sesame seeds: Ninety seconds in a dry pan before you start the meat is the difference between seeds you taste and seeds you do not.
- Loosen the tahini slowly: Add the water a spoonful at a time. Tahini seizes first and then relaxes, and pouring it all in at once leaves the sauce grainy.
- Shave the kohlrabi thin: Thick pieces eat woody and dull. Sliced almost translucent, on a mandoline if you have one, it stays crisp and sweet against the lamb.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Lamb, tahini, and the raw salad each do a different job on this plate. The meat brings the richness and the protein, the sesame paste brings its own fat and a little calcium, and the kohlrabi and arugula keep something this dense from sitting heavily.
- Ground lamb browns into a dark crust because of the fat running through it, and the meat carries iron in the form your body absorbs most readily along with B12, which comes almost entirely from animal foods.
- Kohlrabi shaved raw is crisp and faintly sweet, somewhere close to the heart of a cabbage, and eating it uncooked is how you keep the vitamin C that a hot pan would take straight back out of it.
- Cumin and coriander go into the meat rather than over it, so they toast in the fat as the crust forms and smell warmest right at the moment you turn the kofta. The smoked paprika underneath them is what gives the crust its color.
- Three kofta hold you through a long afternoon. The protein in the lamb does most of that work, and the fat in the tahini slows the plate down, so lunch stays with you rather than fading an hour later.
- As you eat, notice the crust giving way before the soft middle does, and let the cold crisp kohlrabi between bites slow you down enough to tell when you have had enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ground beef?
Yes. Ground beef takes the same spices and the same sear, though it carries less fat than lamb, so work a spoonful of olive oil into the mixture and pull the kofta off the heat a minute earlier. Ground goat also works and tastes closer to the lamb version.
My kofta fell apart in the pan. What happened?
Either the meat was not worked long enough or they were turned too early. Mix until the lamb is genuinely sticky, then let the first side form a solid brown crust for a full 3 minutes before you touch them. That crust is what holds the shape together here.
Can I make these ahead for the week?
Shape them a day ahead and keep them on a covered tray, or cook the whole batch and portion it into four containers. Make the tahini sauce ahead as well, but expect it to thicken in the refrigerator, so loosen it with a spoonful of cold water before you serve it.
Does this work on a low-FODMAP plan?
It does. There is no onion or garlic in the recipe, and the flavor comes from cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and the browning. Tahini sits well at a couple of tablespoons per person, and if you keep garlic-infused olive oil in the house, use it for the sear.