Turkish Iskender Kebab

This meal has to be one of my all time favourites. Simple, rustic, flavourful - everything I love in one dish. Charred spiced meat served on butter-soaked pita with yoghurt and tomatoes.

I first found a recipe for this dish years ago in a fantastic cookbook called the "The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking' by Ghillie Basan. As often happens with recipes, I have made it so many times over that is has been tweaked and changed to become something somewhat different from the original while still retaining the essence.

One quick note: the pita chips absolutely DO make this dish, so if you're going to try it, don't bother skimping on the oil and butter. Just add it on in, let the torn pita soak it up, and revel in the buttery lemony goodness without worrying about the long-term health effects. It feeds the soul!

Ingredients

Kebabs:

500g lean minced beef

1 onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp sumac

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

Tomato sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 400g tins tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper

For the rest:

1 500gm pack pita bread, torn into small chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

40g butter

Juice of one lemon

1 tsp sumac

Salt and pepper

A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1/2 cup thick greek yoghurt

Method:

Make the kebabs first by adding all the ingredients to a bowl: beef, onions, garlic, paprika, sumac, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix with your hand till well combined, cover and chill while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, heat the oil and add the onions. Gently sauté them until translucent. Add the garlic, sugar, tomato paste, oregano and chilli. Turn the heat up to medium, and stir occasionally until the paste starts to darken. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and leave to simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes - stirring occasionally. When the sauce is reduced, thickened and a deep red colour, remove from the heat.

Shape the kebabs into rough meatball shapes, then flatten gently with your hand. Fry them on a high heat, for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, turning once to get char on both sides.

While the kebabs are cooking, add the olive oil and butter to a large pan over a medium heat. Add the torn pita, sumac, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir well to ensure the pita are well coated. Leave them to toast, stirring every minute or so to get them all evenly brown and crunchy.

When you're ready to eat, spread quarter of the pita on a plate, top with a couple of kebabs, spoon over some tomato sauce, and garnish with yoghurt and fresh parsley. Recipe serves 4.