Piedmontese Beef Kofta
By: Tristan Guilbeault
Instagram: @tristangcooks
This is the fifth recipe in a series highlighting Amaranth’s Whole Foods Market Primal Blends. Available in elk, bison, chicken, turkey, wild boar, pork, beef and now Piedmontese beef! These blends contain 10% to 20% added organ meats, including offal like heart, liver and kidney, which adds key nutrients, protein and unique flavour! They can be substituted 1:1 in any of your favourite recipes for ground beef. This specific primal blend contains a mix of lean-ground Piedmontese with 6% heart, 3% liver and 1% kidney. Peony’s Farms Piedmontese cattle are precision-crafted, regeneratively-farmed and forage-finished.
Peony Farms is a Lacombe based regenerative-cattle farm specializing in Piedmontese beef. Piedmontese are a special variety of cattle, hailing from the region of Piedmont in North-west Italy. These cattle develop extra muscle mass with very little fat thanks to an inactive gene called myostatin. This unique genetic make-up results in a product that is naturally very lean, but comparable in tenderness to more expensive prime cuts of beef. The hanging weight per cow is also higher than most other breeds like Angus, due to the extra muscle mass these cows carry. Piedmontese beef is lower in cholesterol, calories and fat, but higher in protein. By ounce it contains more protein and fewer calories than salmon!
When making recipes with ground beef, it can be difficult to come up with new ways to use it. Kids will eventually get tired of burgers and pasta. Well, this recipe and all the other recipes in my primal series is meant to fill that void. I was inspired to do a Middle Eastern Kofta, and when this primal Piedmontese lean ground beef hit the freezer at Amaranth, I knew it was going to be a natural pairing.
Kofta, Kafta, Kefta, Koofteh and Koftah are all synonymous names for the same dish. Originating in Persia, this is a dish dating back to the earliest Arab cookbooks from the 1600s, although the dish is thought to be much older. The different names are simply the phonetics of different languages as this dish spread through the Middle East and into Asia. ‘Kufteh” in Urdu means to grind or to pound, indicative of the use of ground meat, traditionally lamb. At its simplest iteration, this dish is a combination of grated onion, minced parsley and spices mixed with beef and grilled on skewers. In my version, I forgo the grill and the skewers, opting for a friendlier at-home version. Using the oven, these skewers cook in less than 15 minutes, and are paired with a delicious tahini sauce, seasoned with a little harissa and dill, served over pita bread with a lovely fresh salad. Using ingredients from Amaranth Foods, this recipe highlights Peony’s Farms Piedmontese Beef in a way that is sure to impress family and friends. These Kofta are nut-free but can be made gluten-free as well as dairy or lactose-free.
Piedmontese Beef Kofta
Recipe from Tristan Guilbeault
Dietary Restrictions: Nut-free, can be made gluten-free, can be made dairy-free
Total Time: 45 minutes | (Preparation): 20 minutes | (Cooking): 15 minutes
Yields: Feeds 4
Ingredients
Spiced Kefta
● 1 pkg Primal Piedmontese Ground Beef
● 1 lg white or red Onion, grated and squeezed through a cloth or cheesecloth
● ½ bundle of Parsley, chopped
● 3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
● 1 tbsp Bart Harissa Paste
● 1 tbsp ground Cumin
● 2 tsp Paprika
● 2 tsp Black Pepper, crushed
● 2 tsp Coriander powder
● 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
● 2 tsp Salt
● ½ tsp Clove powder
● 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Yogurt Dressing
● 1 cup plain or greek Yogurt (we recommend Vital Greens Farm, Bles-world, Greek Gods)
● 2 tbsp Tahini (we recommend Nuts To You Organic)
● 1 tbsp Olive Oil
● 2 tsp Bart Harissa Paste
● 1 Lemon, juiced
● 1 bunch fresh Dill, chopped
● 1 tbsp Maple Syrup (we recommend Uncle Luke’s, Everland)
● Salt
Onion Mix
● ½ bundle Parsley, chopped
● 1 Tomato, cut julienne
● 1 small red Onion, cut julienne
● A drizzle of good-quality Olive Oil (we recommend Phoeapolis, Dante Organic, Earth’s Choice, Maison Orphee, Cobram Estate)
Garnish
● Pita bread, Naan, large Tortillas or Rice (I used Indianlife Pita bread, but you can use a gluten-free variety of pita like Aidan’s Gluten-free. For tortillas, I recommend Bakestone Brothers 10’ for a gluten-free wrap and the Ezekiel Sprouted Whole Grains Wraps for flour.)
● Pickles, optional (we recommend Localite, Eat Wholesome, Culture Shocked)
Instructions
1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the ground beef, spices, minced garlic, chopped parsley and olive oil. For the onion, grate using the largest holes on your grater and place it over a bowl with a cloth. Over the sink, squeeze out as much water as possible from the onion. Add to the bowl. Mix very well with your hands and then place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes, up to an hour (or even longer if you are making ahead of time). The longer you let the meat marinate, the more flavourful it will be.
2. Preheat the oven to 425. Place a rack on the 2nd highest level. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, add a drizzle of olive oil and spread lightly with your hands. Add the ground beef mix and shape into a rectangular meatloaf. Then take a metal spatula and cut into 4 equal pieces. Using the spatula, gently separate them so they have a good amount of space between them. Using your hands, gently form into equal-sized pieces, drizzle with a little more olive oil and a little salt. Add to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven up to broil and let the meat slightly brown for 2-3 minutes. Be sure not to overcook!
3. While the meat is baking in the above step, you can make the harissa-tahini-yogurt dressing. For this step, you may use a blender or a hand-blender. Add the yogurt, tahini, harissa, olive oil, juice of a lemon, maple syrup and salt together into the blender and blend until just combined, 20-30 seconds max. Taste for seasoning, and then fold in the chopped dill.
4. Make the onion salad. Peel and cut out the stem of the onion (I am referring to the part of the onion where the root would come from; it is important to cut this out because the thin slices will stay attached otherwise). Cut the onion into very thin slices and add to a bowl with very cold water (this will soften the astringency and taste of the raw onion). Cut the tomato in half and then cut out the core (the little fibrous part in the middle) and discard. Thinly slice the tomato using a sharp knife. If you are having trouble, it can be easier to cut with the skin on the cutting board. Drain the onions from the water and mix with the tomatoes in a small bowl. Add the chopped parsley as well as a good drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Mix to combine.
5. Once the kafta is done and the two garnishes are done, warm the pitas. This can be done by placing them directly on the rack underneath the broiling kofta for a couple of minutes until warmed, or on low heat in a pan for 30-60 seconds per side. Build your wraps by placing a kofta on the bottom, drizzling with the tahini dressing, adding a couple of tablespoons of the onion mix as well as some pickles if you like. Wrap it all up and enjoy!
TIPS
If you don’t have pita wraps on hand, don’t worry, this recipe works great over rice as well! If you have lots of herbs on hand, like mint or cilantro, they would be welcome additions to this recipe in the dressing or onion salad, substitute them for parsley or in tandem. If you aren’t great with a knife or simply want the prep for this recipe to go faster, you can use a food processor! The onions can be blended until they are in small pieces, while I recommend roughly chopping the parsley and then blitzing very lightly so the parsley does not bruise. If you are making this recipe ahead of time for dinner or a special occasion, the meat can be mixed, covered and left to marinate for up to 24 hours. If you have excess tahini dressing left over, use it as a dressing for a salad or a little dip for some pita chips, or even drizzled over a stew. It works with a lot of different dishes, use it like you would a Mexican crema!
SUBSTITUTIONS
To make this recipe dairy-free, the yogurt may be replaced with equal parts mayonnaise or coconut milk yogurt. Both would slightly change the sauce; the mayonnaise would make it creamier, and the coconut yogurt would make it sweeter. If using Greek yogurt, the mixture will just be thicker.
HARISSA PASTE
In this recipe, I’ve used harissa two ways. The first way is cold in the sauce, and the second is in the kofta. This way you get the delicate flavour in the sauce and its smoky umami background in the meat. Harissa is a great product that I seldom have on hand, but when I do, it works great as the base of a dish, whether it be a soup, a stew, or something grilled. Harissa is like the North African version of mirepoix, often used as a base for many dishes in French cuisine; it contains onions, celery and tomatoes sautéed in butter. While the harissa I used today replaces the celery with tomatoes and the carrots with red peppers, but keeps the onion; while the addition of aromatics like garlic, red chilli, coriander, paprika, fennel and black pepper adds another dimension.
Storage
The yogurt dressing can be kept in a mason jar or deli container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. If there are any Kofta left over, they can be stored in a container for up to three days in the fridge, but they are best enjoyed the day of, as the lean meat will get quite dry when re-heated. The salad is best enjoyed on the day of, as the tomatoes will begin to leach water the longer they sit.