Lebanese Beef Kefta Kebab

I've decided to take on a new way of cooking, I am going to buy several things a week that I haven't cooked with or rarely cook with to start branching out and to stimulate my creativity.  It started with the braised celery you see in this picture, post will come tomorrow.  Our garden is coming along, I have plants green onions, Walla Walla onions, and dill.  Still need to do beets, kale, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and zucchini.  Thinking about growing leeks, cucumbers, kohlrabi and more.  And I love having mild weather here in the PNW because my parsley, chives, and mint are producing more than ever.  I love being able to walk out into my backyard and pick fresh mint and parsley for all the lovely Lebanese food I like to cook.  Speaking of the outdoors I really would love to become more of a forager, we have so many edibles that grow wild here in PNW that I want to be more resourceful and live off the land.  Speaking of, there is this awesome foraging camp here where you go on 4 day excursions into the wild and they teach you about the edible plants, looks so fun!  I adapted this recipe and it was super delicious.

Serves 4

The Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef 

1 medium onion, chopped very fine

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves 

Spray oil

The Process

1.  Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, and leave for an hour or longer to allow the flavors to blend. 

2.  Heat oven to 350.  The kefta is then ready to shape and cook.  To make kebabs, take small amounts of kefta and shape them into cylinder or sausage shapes. Skewer the meat, squeezing it to mold it the skewer.

3.  Spray a cookie sheet with oil and place the kebabs on the pan.  Cook for a total of 20 minutes, flipping once 10 minutes through.  Enjoy!

Optional: I also made a yogurt dipping sauce by mixing 1/2 cup whole fat plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon chopped mint, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, a dash of onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix and serve with kebab.