Turkish Tray Kebab

TRAY KEBAB! At least, that's how Google Translate renders it, and that sounds right - delightful, actually - to me. Basically, it's meatloaf, seasoned by Turks and baked in a tray; something like a pie plate or other shallow casserole dish. A sturdy cake pan might do.

Do I even need to say it's delicious? And you're not eating plain old boring meatloaf; oh no, not you! You're eating exotic tray kebab which fortunately is no harder to make than meatloaf.

I used half beef and half lamb. When we were in Turkey anything sold as "meat" generally was a combination. So in addition to being very tasty it's authentic. But if that is not possible one or the other will do. I'll also note that you can use peppers of whatever heat level you like, but if you use hot peppers in the kebab and hot peppers to garnish in addition to the Aleppo pepper, it's going to be, you know; hot. Your call. Some mildly hot banana pepper were about all I've been able to buy this year, other than bell peppers and I just don't eat those, so our kebab had a nice little nip to it.

When I say fresh breadcrumbs, I mean your bread can and should be pretty stale. Just actual bread, not powdery dust from the grocery store.

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

1 medium onion
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
1/2 a medium sweet green or red pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed, ground
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon rubbed savory OR thyme
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
500 grams (1 pound) ground beef, lamb OR half of each
1 large egg
200 grams (1/2 pound; 2 medium) potatoes
2 teaspoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 or 2 small sweet or hot banana peppers
5 large or 10 small cherry tomatoes



Peel and mince the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. De-stem and de-seed the pepper, and chop it very finely. Wash, dry, and finely chop the parsley. Put all this in a mixing bowl as you go.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

If your bread crumbs are very stale, moisten them with a little water then rub them until they crumble - you want to avoid any big lumps of bread. Otherwise, just add them to the bowl. Grind the cumin seeds and add them to the bowl with the salt, savory or thyme, and Aleppo pepper.

Add the meat and the egg to the bowl. I recommend using half lamb and half beef it is at all feasible.

Mix everything - I put in one clean hand and squelch away at it - until very well and evenly combined.

Wash and trim the potatoes. Slice them very thinly. Pour 2 teaspoons of oil into a 9" pie plate. Toss the potatoes in this oil, then season them to taste with salt and pepper. Spread them out as evenly and flatly as you can over the bottom of the pie plate. Turn the meatloaf mixture out on top of them, and spread it out evenly to the edges without disturbing the potatoes. I found it easiest to drop it in handfuls around the dish then press them down to form an even, continuous layer over the potatoes.

Wash the remaining peppers and the tomatoes. De-stem and de-seed the peppers, and cut them into strips. Cut out the stem scar from the tomatoes, if it is warranted, and either cut them in half or leave them whole depending on the size. Use these vegetables to garnish the top of the kebab, pressing down gently but firmly to be sure they are well engaged with the surface. Brush them with the remaining oil.

Bake for 1 hour at 375°F, and let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.




Last year at this time I made Feta Cheese Stuffed Kohlrabi. 

Posted in: Ontario Food