Lamb Kofta — The Ancient Comfort of Meat, Fire, and a Mother at the Grill

January real estate and the snowbird migration is in full swing. Retired couples from the northeast arriving in waves, each one with the same request: pool, lanai, no HOA, and a kitchen where they can finally learn to cook something other than the pot roast they have been making since 1987. I showed eight properties this week and put three under contract. The pipeline for 2018 is already stronger than January 2017, which means the trajectory is up, which means the work is working.

Alexander's senior year is winding toward its conclusion with the quiet inevitability of a Greek drama. He knows the ending — graduation, USF, the next chapter — but the middle is still happening, filled with classes and friends and the last basketball games and the peculiar melancholy of a boy who is experiencing things for the last time and knows it. He came home Thursday and said everything feels like a goodbye. I said it is not a goodbye. It is a thank you. He looked at me. He understood.

Sophia is deep in preparation for the school science fair. Her project involves testing the antibacterial properties of different honeys — including Mama's Greek honey from the bakery, which I suspect is less about science and more about wanting an excuse to eat honey during school hours. She set up her experiment on the kitchen table and the whole house smells like agar plates and antiseptic, which is not the usual kitchen smell but is the smell of a girl becoming a scientist, and I will take it.

I made lamb kofta this week — the spiced ground lamb formed into elongated meatballs and grilled on skewers until charred outside and juicy inside. The spices — cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika — create a warmth that has nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with the deep, ancient comfort of meat and fire and a woman standing at a grill doing what her ancestors did, albeit with a propane tank instead of a campfire. Sophia declared the kofta the best thing she has eaten all month. She says this monthly. Each month has its best thing. I am keeping a list. The list is long and made entirely of food I cooked with olive oil and love. Both generous. Both essential. Neither negotiable.

If there is a week that calls for standing at a hot grill with a glass of wine and the feeling that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, it is a week like this one — three contracts signed, a son savoring his last good things, and a daughter turning the kitchen into a laboratory. The kofta is what I reach for when I need something that feels both ancient and immediate, something that connects me to every woman in my family who ever cooked meat over fire and felt, for a moment, completely whole. These are the skewers I made Thursday evening while Alexander was upstairs doing whatever senior boys do when they are quietly grieving the life they are about to leave behind — and when he came down and ate four of them without a word, I knew they had done their job.

Grilled Lamb Kofta Skewers

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Chill Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
• 1 small yellow onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater (excess liquid squeezed out)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the grill grates
• 8–10 metal skewers (or wooden skewers soaked in water 30 minutes)

Instructions

1. Prepare the skewers. If using wooden skewers, submerge them in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Metal skewers need no preparation.
2. Mix the kofta. In a large bowl, combine the ground lamb, grated onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix with your hands until everything is fully incorporated — about 90 seconds. Do not overmix or the texture will become dense.
3. Form the kofta. Divide the mixture into 8–10 equal portions. With damp hands, press and mold each portion around a skewer into an elongated oval shape, roughly 4–5 inches long. Squeeze firmly so the meat adheres and will not fall during grilling.
4. Chill. Arrange the formed kofta on a sheet tray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This step helps the kofta hold together on the grill.
5. Preheat the grill. Heat a gas grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Brush the grates generously with olive oil.
6. Grill the kofta. Lay the skewers on the grill and cook without moving for 3–4 minutes until the underside is deeply charred. Turn and grill 3–4 minutes more. Continue turning once or twice until all sides are charred and the internal temperature reaches 160°F, 10–12 minutes total.
7. Rest and serve. Transfer kofta to a platter and let rest 2–3 minutes. Serve with warm pita, tzatziki, sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 4g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 530mg