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
sides:
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
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.
In a large bowl, combine red onion, parsley, oil, sumac and salt; toss to coat. Arrange on a large serving platter.
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.
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.