Thanks for all your patience with my less-than-regular posting lately. If you follow me on Facebook, you might have caught my message that I’ve been moving house, and so blogging had to go on the back-burner while I got myself sorted. I’m now officially in my new home and have even cooked my first proper meal (i.e. not food defrosted from the freezer, or hummus, veggies & crackers…)!
I went back to my favourite Middle Eastern flavours for this meal with tempeh kofte.
Apparently the name kofte comes from the Persian word “to grind”, so, although they’re traditionally made from meat, they certainly don’t have to be. My version uses tempeh “ground” in a food processor. There are countless varieties out there, many of which use different seasonings and are shaped, cooked and served differently.
Seeing as I’m just getting used to my kitchen, I didn’t want to attempt anything too ambitious and kept this recipe fairly quick and simple.
The kofte turned out really tasty, especially tossed with melt-in-the-mouth roasted aubergine, crisp fresh parsley, red onion, and a good dollop of minted yogurt. Try stuffing them into warm pitta or flatbread, serving them dipped in the minted yogurt as an appetizer, or atop a big leafy salad.
I’ve got to adjust to a whole new photography setup too!
Ingredients
- 1/3 C Pine nuts, toasted
- 2 Cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 x 225g/8oz pkg Tempeh
- 1/2 tsp Agave nectar OR other liquid sweetener
- 1 Tbsp Dried thyme
- 2-1/2 Tbsp Harissa paste*
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 C Coconut yogurt (or soy but will be runnier)
- 1/4 C Finely chopped mint
- 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 Large aubergine (eggplant), chopped into 1" chunks
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 Bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
- Toss the aubergine with the olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Cook for approx 20 minutes, or until very soft.
- Pulse the toasted pine nuts and garlic in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until the tempeh is broken down and everything is combined.
- Shape mixture into small balls (10-12) using moistened hands to prevent sticking.
- Dry-fry in a non-stick pan/sauté in a drizzle of oil/ or skewer, brush with oil and cook on the grill.
- Stir together the ingredients for the minted yogurt.
- Toss kofte with roasted aubergine, parsley and red onion and serve as desired, with a dollop of minted yogurt.
Notes
*Harissa paste can vary quite a lot in heat. Mine was fairly mild. Adjust according to preference.
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