Levant Kofta & Egg Flatbread
Serves 2
Prep: 20 minutes + Labneh
Cook: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Kofta
300g lamb mince, ideally 15–20% fat
½ small onion
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes
Quick kasundi relish
150g ripe tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 small garlic clove
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp black or brown mustard seeds
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1½ tsp soft brown sugar
Labneh
120g full-fat Greek yoghurt
Small pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
To assemble
2 large flatbreads
2 eggs
Chives
2 tbsp za'atar
Method
1. Make the labneh
The night before, stir the yoghurt with a small pinch of salt.
Line a fine sieve with muslin, a clean thin cloth or a couple of layers of kitchen paper and sit it over a bowl.
Spoon in the yoghurt, cover and refrigerate for 8–12 hours.
The next day, scrape the thickened yoghurt into a bowl and stir through the lemon juice. Taste and add another small pinch of salt if needed.
Keep chilled until you’re ready to build the flatbreads.
2. Make the kasundi
Finely dice the tomatoes, peel and grate the garlic and ginger, then get the spices measured out.
Heat the neutral oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for around 30 seconds, then stir in the cumin, turmeric and chilli flakes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, cider vinegar, sugar and salt.
Turn the heat down slightly and cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until thick, glossy and jammy.
Taste and adjust if needed, then set aside to cool slightly.
3. Make the kofta
Peel and finely grate the onion and garlic, then finely chop the parsley.
Add them to a bowl with the lamb, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, Aleppo pepper, salt and plenty of black pepper.
Mix firmly with your hands for about 1 minute, until the mixture becomes slightly sticky and holds together well.
Divide into 2 and shape into wide oval patties, around 1.5–2cm thick.
4. Prepare the chives
Wrap in damp kitchen towel or an elastic band and finely chop the chives.
5. Cook the kofta
Heat a cast-iron or heavy frying pan over high heat.
Lightly coat the koftas with the olive oil, then cook for 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply browned and lightly charred.
Rest for a couple of minutes while you finish everything else.
6. Fry the eggs
Add a little olive oil to the pan used for the koftas and place over medium-high heat.
Fry the eggs until the whites are set and lightly crisp underneath, while keeping the yolks properly runny.
Season lightly with salt and black pepper.
7. Toast the flatbreads
Warm the flatbreads in the hot pan for a minute or two, letting them pick up a few charred patches without turning brittle.
8. Build
Spread a generous layer of labneh onto each flatbread.
Drizzle 2 tbsp of the kasundi over the labneh
Add the hot kofta, sit a fried egg on top, then pile over plenty of chives.
Finish with a sprinkle of za’atar.
Notes
The kofta wants proper browning, so get the pan hot and don’t keep moving it around.
The kasundi should be thick and punchy rather than loose; sweet, sharp, mustardy and a little hot.
And use a proper thick, fluffy flatbread if you can. The bread is doing a lot of work here.