"Poor Man's" Iskender Kebab

 Growing up, my mom would make this dish called "poor man's lasagna." It was, essentially, a casserole meets lasagna hybrid. It is layers of marinara sauce with ground beef, layers of egg noodles with a a cheesy filling (that is incredible).  The whole thing is really delicious to make. Although honestly I am not sure exactly what makes this a "poorer" version of lasagna as a basic, mid-west American lasagna is not that much more expensive to make. Who knows. It's best not to question casseroles, especially when they are tasty tasty. 

All that to say, I recently made the Yogurtlu Kofte Kebabi recipe (akak Kofte Kebab with tomato sauce and yogurt) from Claudia Roden's book Arabesque. I picked this recipe because it seemed like a simpler/quicker version of the dish, Iskender Kebab. So in my mind this quickly became another "poor man's" situation.

I wanted to save the recipe and I thought capturing it in my blog would make the most sense. (After all, this was suppose to be a food and gardening blog. Oh how times have changed). I liked this recipe although I think I want to tweak it a bit - another reason to save it in an editable form.

Kofte Kebab with tomato sauce and yogurt

For the tomato sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

2 T olive oilb

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 chili pepper, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, peeled and chopped (This did not yield enough sauce. Next time I want to use a large can of whole tomatoes and see if that makes a difference

salt and pepper

1 to 2 t sugar

To make the sauce, fry the onions in oil until soft. Add the garlic and chili pepper, stir for a moment. Put in tomatoes, season with salt, pepper and sugar. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes* or until the tomatoes soften up and the sauce is reduced, (This took way more than 10 minutes for me. A pasta sauce that I make in a similar fashion takes about an hour to really get it right).

Kofte Kebab

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef and/or ground lamb

salt and pepper

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

1 t sumac, plus a pinch for dusting

For the kofte, season the meat with salt and pepper and work it into a soft dough with your hands. Add the onion and parsley and work into the meat. Shape into sausages, about 3/4 inch thick and 2-3 inches long. Arrange them on an oiled sheet of foil on a baking sheet and cook them under a preheated broiler for about 8 minutes, turning them over once. (I baked the kofte first since I don't have a good ventilation system in my kitchen and didn't want to deal with all the smoke. I think I baked them at 425 for about 12 minutes and the finished them off under the broiler). 

Complete the dish

pita bread, toasted

yogurt

2 T butter

pine nuts (optional)

Spread pieces of pita on plate and sprinkle with a pinch of sumac. Add a layer of yogurt and a few kofte. Top with tomato sauce. 

To finish, heat the butter with pine nuts and a sprinkle of sumac. When the butter sizzles, immediately pour it over each dish and serve.