SPICED KOFTAS WITH HONEY & CHICKPEAS

Spiced koftas with honey & chickpeas image

Spiced lamb koftas are a great budget option for a simple family meal. Serve with a drizzle of the creamy yogurt dressing, and baked chickpeas

Provided by Esther Clark

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

1 ½ tsp fennel seeds
500g lamb mince
1 ½ tbsp ras el hanout
2 tbsp pine nuts , toasted and roughly chopped
2 x 400g cans chickpeas , drained and rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
80g Greek yogurt
2 tbsp tahini
1 lemon , 1/2 juiced, 1/2 cut into wedges to serve
25g parsley , roughly chopped, to serve

Steps:

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Using a pestle and morter, crush the fennel seeds. In a large bowl, combine the crushed seeds, lamb, ras el hanout and pine nuts, and season well. Divide the mixture into eight equal egg-shaped koftas.
Tip the chickpeas into an ovenproof dish, season to taste and put in the oven while you fry the koftas. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the koftas and gently fry for 5 mins, turning from time to time, until evenly browned. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
Remove the chickpeas from the oven, add the koftas to the dish, then pour over the rest of the oil and the honey, and return to the oven for 15 mins.
In a bowl, combine the yogurt, tahini and lemon juice with 70-100ml water and season well. Serve the koftas and chickpeas topped with parsley and a good drizzle of the creamy dressing, with the lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 625 calories, Fat 38 grams fat, SaturatedFat 11 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 29 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 10 grams sugar, Fiber 9 grams fiber, Protein 37 grams protein, Sodium 1.4 milligram of sodium