Kebab with tomato and capsicum sauce (ezmeli kebap) recipe

At Efendy, Somer uses equal quantities of veal rump, boneless lamb leg and lamb tail fat, which he minces using his Turkish zirkh knife. For ease and convenience, we’ve used minced veal and lamb in this recipe. This dish is cooked over wood charcoal at Efendy, which gives an unmatchable barbecue flavour as the juices from the lamb-tail fat sizzle on the hot coals.

Serves 4
Preparation 20min
Cooking 20min
Skill level Mid

By
Somer Sivrioglu

Ingredients

400 g minced veal (see note)
400 g minced lamb
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp coarsely ground chilli, plus extra, to serve

Ezme (barbecued tomato and capsicum sauce)

2 tomatoes, halved
2 yellow butter capsicums or banana chillies (see note)
2 long green chillies

Cook's notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Instructions

Marinating time overnight

Drink 2008 Sevilen Centum Syrah, Denizli, Turkey

You will need 13 long flat metal skewers for this recipe.

Place meat, cumin and chilli in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, knead until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill pan (see note) over medium–high heat. Roll kebab mixture into 8 even balls and, using your hands, mould around 8 flat metal skewers into 20 cm-long sausages. Transfer to a large tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the ezme, thread tomatoes, capsicums and green chillies onto 5 flat metal skewers. Cook vegetable skewers, turning with tongs (cooking tomatoes skin-sides down only) until blackened all over. Transfer to a bowl, cool slightly, then rub off the charred skins. Carefully cut open capsicums and chillies, and discard the seeds. Process tomatoes, capsicums and chillies in a food processor until roughly chopped. Season and set aside.

Cook meat skewers, turning every 2 minutes, for 10 minutes or until cooked through and browned. Remove meat from skewers and serve with ezme and extra ground chilli sprinkled over.

Note
• Minced veal is available from butchers and selected supermarkets. Substitute beef.
• Substitute bullhorn capsicums for yellow butter capsicums or banana chillies.
• If using a chargrill pan, use skewers that fit the size of the chargrill you are using.

As seen in Feast magazine, Issue 8, pg94.

Photography by Alan Benson