Spiced “Christmas Pudding” Köfte Canapés

 

Spiced “Christmas Pudding” Köfte Canapés. 

Ok, don’t be deceived by the title, these aren’t ACTUALLY Christmas puddings, they are beautifully spiced Köfte balls, topped with a lemon, honey and dill yoghurt, and are one of my absolute favourite canapés. I shared them a few years ago but have spruced up the photo and now popped the recipe on my blog.

They take 5 mins to mix and roll, the same amount of time to cook if frying (a little longer if baking) and around 30 seconds for you and your loved ones to enjoy! Hope you enjoy them.

N.B. you can make the mixture, roll into balls and freeze (as long as you are using fresh, and not using previously frozen mince) - then defrost before you’re ready to fry / bake them. 

Also, if you like, once the pan / oven is hot, pop in a tiny piece of the mixture, cook for a minute and just taste to check for seasoning. 

INGREDIENTS 

Köfte Balls 

500g 20% fat lamb mince 

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 

1 heaped tbsp red pepper paste 

1 onion, grated, all the juice squeezed out

2 large cloves, finely grated 

3 tbsp finely chopped parsley 

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp pul 

1/2 tsp black pepper 

1/2 tsp salt 

2-3 tbsp olive oil for frying / brushing if baking 

Lemon & honey yoghurt 

2 tbsp thick set yoghurt / creme fraiche 

1 tsp honey 

1 tsp lemon juice

Zest of 1/2 lemon 

1 tsp finely chopped dill 

Pinch of salt to taste 

To serve

Toasted pitta / lavaş bread

Pomegranate seeds 

Fresh dill

Summak 

Pul biber 

Grated lemon zest 

Coarse black pepper 

METHOD 

If baking, preheat oven to 180C fan / 200C conventional. 

Mix the yoghurt ingredients together and refrigerate. 

In a large bowl, mix all the köfte ingredients together really well and shape into 18-20 balls (the size of ping pong balls)

If you are baking the köfte, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush each one with a little of the olive oil then bake for 15-20 minutes on the bottom shelf, giving them a gentle turn in the juices halfway through if necessary. 

If pan frying, heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot, cook the köfte in two batches for 4-5 minutes making sure you gently turn them over in the oil as they cook so that they don’t burn (the pomegranate molasses in the mixture is delicious , but the concentrated sugar content can also be susceptible to burn if cooked on too high a heat). 

Once cooked, serve on small toasted pieces of soft pitta / lavaş bread, brushing each köfte gently with the juices from the tray / pan, top with a small dollop of the flavoured yoghurt, sprinkle over summak, pul biber, a good grinding of coarse black pepper, a grating of lemon zest, a couple of pomegranate seeds and some dill.