Beef

Adana Kabob

Made with the essential trio of lamb, cumin and dried chile peppers, Adana kabob is succulent and perfectly spiced. Serve the grilled Turkish ground lamb kabobs with a bright sumac onion salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, grated
  • 1-1/2 pounds ground lamb
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons urfa biber, optional
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground sumac
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 2 poblano or jalapeno peppers
  • optional: pita bread and cacik (turkish tzatziki sauce)

Directions

  1. Place grated onion in a fine sieve over a bowl. Press and squeeze the onion to remove juice. Reserve onion juice. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine lamb, onion, paprika, red pepper flakes, Urfa biber if desired, salt, pepper and cumin until evenly blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
  2. In a large bowl, combine red onion, parsley, oil, sumac and salt; toss to coat. Arrange on a large serving platter.
  3. Divide the meat mixture into 8 pieces. Shape into 1-in. wide rectangles around skewers. Brush both sides with reserved onion juice. Grill, covered, over medium-high heat for 6 minutes. Baste with onion juice. Turn and grill until a thermometer reads 160°, 5-7 minutes longer.
  4. Meanwhile, grill whole tomatoes and peppers until slightly charred, 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally. Cut into slices. Arrange kabobs, tomatoes and peppers over the parsley mixture. If desired, serve with pita bread and cacik sauce.