Baked kofta with eggplant and potatoesfeatured

Kofta is one of those comforting dishes that I grew up eating and just love to eat and make for my family. It can take a lot of forms. A popular way to make kofta at home in the Levant is kofta bil saniyah – kofta baked in a tray with potatoes and tomatoes. Another tray bake dish that I LOVE, which is exceedingly popular among Egyptians, is moussaka (mesa’aa). Eggplant fried then baked in tomato sauce, often with ground meat and kofta-like spices and at times potatoes are added. So, I figured, why not add some eggplant?

If kofta bil saniyah and Egyptian moussaka had a love child- this may be it.

We ate this with vermacelli rice and tahina-yogurt sauce on top, and it was heavenly.

Making the kofta bil saniyah

This recipe is pretty straight forward, it requires slicing your veggies and roasting (or frying) the eggplant, making your kofta mix and shaping it into patties, and making a simple garlicky tomato sauce.

The kofta recipe can be used in many other ways. Made into patties or fingers to be grilled, pan-seared, or broiled it makes an excellent main dish or sandwich.

This kofta is seasoned with an assortment of warm spices. I always say that people should use the spices that they like, don’t feel compelled to follow to the letter. The only thing that I don’t ever recommend omitting is salt, though of course salt should be adjusted to taste. I like to season my kofta with a heavy hand, others may use few to no spices beyond salt and pepper.

My mama taught me to always taste the kofta mix and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Yes, I mean raw. (I can’t be the only one, can I?) I’ve been doing this for years and have never been sick. And really, what sickness could be worse than serving under-seasoned kofta? But I know some people may be squeamish at the thought. You can always fry up a tiny piece and taste it that way, if you prefer.

So, mix up your kofta and taste it if you dare.

Quickly sear the patties and assemble your veggies and patties in the tray.

Make your simple tomato sauce, pour it over and bake for about 50 mins, or until potatoes are cooked through.

Ben hana wel shefa! Enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Kofta bil saniyah (baked kofta tray) with eggplant and potatoes

Flavourful kofta meat patties are baked in a rich tomato sauce alongside potatoes and eggplant for a comforting dish that's great eaten with Egyptian rice and vermicelli.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: eggplant, kofta, meatballs, potatoes, tomato

Author: Dahlia Morched

Equipment

• Food processor
• 9 x 13 inch baking pan with high sides, or other pan of similar volume

Ingredients

For the veggies

• 2 medium eggplants
• olive oil
• 2 large potatoes
• 4 plum tomatoes or other med-size tomato

For the Kofta

• 2 lbs ground lamb or beef or a mix of the two
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1.5 tsp allspice ground
• 1 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1 tsp coriander ground
• 1 small pinch cardamom
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt I use diamond brand, if using Morton brand use 1 tsp

For tomato sauce

• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp kosher salt or to taste
• pepper white and black if available, to taste

Instructions

Preparing vegetables

• Preheat oven to 450F.
• Slice you eggplants crosswise into 2 cm-ish discs.
• Lay flat on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil and bake until golden, approximately 30 minutes. Leave the oven at 450, as you will bake the tray at this temperature.
• Slice tomatoes in the same manner.
• Peel potatoes and slice a bit thinner than the eggplants, as they will take the longest to cook.

For the Kofta

• Pulse onion in food processor until it is finely minced, taking care to not puree it. Squeeze the water out of the shopped onions (I do it with my hands, putting the onion in a paper towel then squeezing). Set aside onion water. (Always remove the water from onions when making kofta as the excess moisture will cause kofta to fall apart.)
• Pulse parsley in food processor until finely minced.
• Mix your ground meat, onion, parsely and spices in a mixing bowl. Using your hands gets the best results. Work it until combined but no longer ,as overworking can cause the meat to toughen.
• Form balls with your kofta mix and flatten into patties. Try to get them to be a similar radius and thickness as your vegetables, but don't go crazy with this. It doesn't need to be perfect.
• Sear patties on both sides in a pan with some oil over high heat. You don't want them to cook too much during this step, but just to brown on the outside, it should take about 3 minutes or so on each side.

Making your tomato sauce

• Saute minced garlic in some olive oil over a medium flame until fragrant, but don't let it brown.
• Add tomato paste and saute another 3 minutes or so.
• Add water and reserved onion juice and turn up heat to high. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Season liberally with salt and pepper. Taste to make sure it is well seasoned, under-seasoned sauce will leach the flavour out of your kofta.

Assembly

• Arrange veggies and patties in tray in your chosen pattern. Trim any pieces that are particularly larger than the others before assembling.
• Pour hot tomato sauce over kofta and vegetables.
• Cover tightly with foil and very carefully move the pan to the oven and bake for around 45 minutes at 450F. Once you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork put back in oven for 5-10 more minutes uncovered to allow the top to brown.
• Serve hot with rice and yogurt or tahina sauce!