Kafta Sliders
As you may know by now, I love Kafta and have been playing with this classical Lebanese meat mixture since I started cooking. You can see many renditions on the original kafta recipe page.
I was developing a new recipe for the cooking classes I planned for 2018. We needed some kafta, with sunny toping, and Mediterranean flavors. I initially thought about a big fat kafta burger, overloaded with all types of spreads, sauces and vegetables. It was good, but the kafta flavor would disappear while competing with all the other elements. I went from a single burger to multiple sliders. It is cuter, you can have more than one (essential strategy!!) and there is room for undecided palates… play with the toppings and your options are endless.
Bon appétit!
note: I will update the slider options every time a new version is approved by the boys-tasting-committee ;)
Kafta Sliders
Recipe credits: Rafaella Sargi
Makes 12 sliders approx.
Ingredients
1 pounds (500 g) ground beef (I use grass fed beef with a percentage of 10% fat)
1/2 pound (250 g) ground lamb
1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
1 cup roughly chopped white onion
2 slices of white sandwich bread
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
3/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
12 slider buns for serving
Directions
Scale and prep all the ingredients.
You will need one big bowl, one medium food processor fitted with the blade attachment, food safe gloves, and one baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Heat the oven to 400F (200C).
In a big mixing bowl, put the ground beef and the ground lamb. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, put the diced onions with the salt and allspice then process until finely chopped. Add the parsley a little bit at a time, and process each time until completely blended. Add the bread, one slice at a time and process until everything seems well blended. Pour this mixture over the ground meats, put your gloves on and mix well until the onion/parsley mixture and the ground meat are mixed homogeneously.
Your kafta is ready!
Form slider sized patties, line them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the hot oven until cooked through… approx. 40-45 minutes. ( I like to turn them half way so both sides are evenly browned.)
SLIDER OPTIONS
Parsley Relish
Hand pick the leaves of half a bunch of flat Italian parsley and place in a small bowl. Add 3 finely chopped scallions and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ground sumac on top. Mix and set aside.
The Red Kafta Slider
Spread a thin layer of Aioli on both cut sides of the slider bun you are using. Place on slice of roasted eggplant, top it with a kafta patty, fresh tomatoes and finish with a little bit of the parsley relish.
The Green Kafta Slider
Mix 2 tablespoons of Feta cheese with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Spread it on the lower bun, then top the cheese spread with a kafta patty, some thinly sliced cucumbers and a little bit of the parsley relish.
