Veal Kafta

Veal Kafta

Ground Veal with onions and Middle Eastern spices served over basmati rice with yogurt sauce, tomato salad, hummus, and pita bread.

Ground Veal with onions and Middle Eastern spices served over basmati rice. Plated with yogurt sauce, tomato salad, hummus, and pita bread.

Veal Kafta (sometimes kofta) is a Lebanese dish made of ground meat mixed with onions and Middle Eastern spices. The mixture is then shaped into patties, meatballs, or logs. Traditionally it’s grilled on skewers, but this easy version is baked in the oven for 15 minutes, then served over basmati rice. Plate with a homemade yogurt sauce, tomato salad, and hummus. You can also serve inside pita bread as a sandwich.

This Veal Kafta recipe was developed in partnership with Carla Cardello at Homemade in the Kitchen – visit her website for more recipes! Looking for more? Check out all of our ground veal recipes!

Ingredients

Kafta:

  • 1 pound ground veal
  • 1/4 cup finely minced yellow onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Yogurt Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (roughly one 5.3 ounce cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
  • Pinch of kosher salt

For Serving:

  • 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1/4 cup chopped pickled red onion
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Basmati rice, hummus, and pita bread

Instructions

  1. For the kafta: Preheat oven to 400F. Have a large baking sheet ready.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the veal, onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, clove, salt and pepper until well combined.
  3. Divide mixture into 9 portions and shape each portion into a 3-inch long log.
  4. Transfer to baking sheet and cook 15 minutes or until brown and internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
  5. Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce: In small bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  6. In a medium bowl, mix together tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and olive oil.
  7. Serve kafta on top of rice with yogurt sauce, tomato salad, and hummus or serve inside pita bread as a sandwich.

Prep
Time:
20 Minutes

Cook
Time:
15 Minutes

Total
Time:
35 Minutes

Serving
Size:
4

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