# Blackstone Griddle goes Lebanese / Lamb Kofta smashburgers



## jcam222 (Jun 28, 2020)

I have seen so many griddle posts lately you all inspired me to dig mine out and get to work. I decided to do a spin on smashburgers using  Lebanese lamb kofta for smashburgers along with  other things to remain in the Lebanese theme. 

*Appetizer: Fried Halloumi – *Fried Halloumi cheese with a tahini and my homemade sugar free 
dandelion honey drizzle. Topped with pistachios and served with an olive tapenade.

*Salad: Lebanese Fattoush: *Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato , parsley and keto garlic pita chips served with a traditional Lebanese salad dressing highlighted by olive oil, lemon, fresh mint and Za’atar

*Entrée: Lamb Kofta Smashburger and Mediterranean grilled vegetables: *Fresh made lamb kofta patties smashburger style  served on chaffles with garlic spread, spinach, feta cheese sauce and fresh pickled red onions. Served with a side of an eggplant and squash medley marinated with olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh mint, parsley and lemon with a hit of chili flakes.

I made the lamb kofta a day ahead of time to let the flavors marry.

*Lamb Kofta Ingredients:* 


½ cup each of almonds and walnuts (can use pine nuts too)
1 ½ small onions
4 ½ cloves minced garlic
1 ½ medium red bell pepper
2 medium jalapenos seeded
¾ cup cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1/3 tsp each cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper
2 ¼ tsp salt
3 lbs. of ground lamb
Chop nuts fine in a food processor and toast lightly in a pan. Cut up and finely mince the rest of the veggies in the food processor. Squeeze as much juice as possible out of them in a fine mesh strainer or use cheesecloth. Mix all ingredients thoroughly with the lamb and refrigerate overnight to let flavors develop. I pattied them up into 5 oz. patties prior to putting in the frig. 














I made some sweet pickled red onions and a feta cheese sauce to go with the burgers. Recipes follow, didn't get pics of these finished. Pic is of the sauce prior to melting it. 

*Sweet Pickled Red Onion Ingredients:*


One medium red onion halved and sliced
1 -2 tablespoons sweetener (I used 2 Swerve)
¾ cup of white vinegar
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Chili flakes to taste
Mix all ingredients and rest for at least an hour. Much better if left overnight.
*Feta Cheese Sauce:*

1 cup crumbled feta
1 tbsp. fresh minced basil
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ tsp cumin
Pinch of sweetener
You can cook this in a water bath or be lazy like me and microwave in 45 second increments stirring each time until smooth.







*Mediterranean Marinated Vegetables:*

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
Dressing
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp salt
Pinch of chili flake
¼ cup fresh chopped mint
¼ cup fresh chopped oregano
Slice the veggies and mix. You can peel the eggplant if its larger and the skin is touch. Toss in the marinade about a half hour before cooking.














*Fattoush Salad:*

1 large head of romaine
2 cucumbers
2 containers of cherry tomatoes
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
Keto pita chips (recipe I used was bad and I had to wing it to salvage so not shareable on the first go round)
Dressing

¼ cup EVO
¼ cup lemon juice
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. chopped mint
1 tsp Za’atar
½ tsp. kosher salt
Pepper to taste







Here is the halloumi frying away on the griddle






Here are some of the kofta on the griddle and all of them on the cutting board after. 12 of them there double stacked. I ate lucky number 13 while I was cooking them lol. 













Time to construct some things. Here is the halloumi appetizer plated. 







Next a bowl of salad so I can give my wife the salad and appetizer while I work on finishing the rest. 






Starting the kofta burger here. A nice layer of Mediterranean garlic spread on the chaffle. 






First burger with spinach and feta cheese sauce







Double deckered up with some more cheese sauce and topped with the sweet pickled red onions. 







Here it is plated up along with the vegetables and some spicy pepper infused Greek olives. 







Well that's a wrap. The flavors in this were awesome. The sweet pickled onion on the kofta to contrast with the salty feta sauce was money. The saltiness of the fried halloumi with the tahini and honey was a nice combination as well. The vegetables were tasty if not a little lemony. All in all this was one tasty meal. I have the griddle now in a spot easier to get out so more griddle fun is sure to come. Thanks for looking!!


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## TNJAKE (Jun 28, 2020)

Man that looks wonderful and I LOVE kofta. Big like from me jeff


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## Blues1 (Jun 28, 2020)

One helluva spread there brother! Lotta work I'm sure...but WOW! My compliments to the highest.


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## Sowsage (Jun 28, 2020)

Man what a meal! I cant say ive ever had anything like the kofta but from what I'm seeing id love it! The whole meal is a work of art! Very nice!


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## Johnny Ray (Jun 28, 2020)

Speechless! What a beautiful meal. I know it was delicious!

Johnny Ray


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## Steve H (Jun 29, 2020)

Geesh! That looks delicious! I gotta give that a try. Point!


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## ronf (Jun 29, 2020)

Outstanding!


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## tx smoker (Jun 29, 2020)

Wow Jeff...absolutely spectacular meal my friend that is breathtakingly beautiful. Leave it to you to create a 5-star, world class, magazine quality keto friendly meal on the griddle. Only you sir....only you    That is unless of course this inspires somebody else to replicate this, which I'd love to do but would have to use beef instead of lamb. It'd still be great I'm sure.

I don't just LIKE that, I LOVE it,
Robert


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## SmokinVOLfan (Jun 29, 2020)

Wow Jeff! Hard to say much else. That is a beautiful presented meal my friend. Thanks for posting the recipes as well.


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jun 29, 2020)

Dang Jeff, that is one fantastic lookin' meal brother! 

Way more work than I would put in, but the result speaks volumes.

BIG LIKE!

John


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## jcam222 (Jun 29, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> Man that looks wonderful and I LOVE kofta. Big like from me jeff





Blues1 said:


> One helluva spread there brother! Lotta work I'm sure...but WOW! My compliments to the highest.





Sowsage said:


> Man what a meal! I cant say ive ever had anything like the kofta but from what I'm seeing id love it! The whole meal is a work of art! Very nice!





Johnny Ray said:


> Speechless! What a beautiful meal. I know it was delicious!
> 
> Johnny Ray





Steve H said:


> Geesh! That looks delicious! I gotta give that a try. Point!





ronf said:


> Outstanding!





tx smoker said:


> Wow Jeff...absolutely spectacular meal my friend that is breathtakingly beautiful. Leave it to you to create a 5-star, world class, magazine quality keto friendly meal on the griddle. Only you sir....only you    That is unless of course this inspires somebody else to replicate this, which I'd love to do but would have to use beef instead of lamb. It'd still be great I'm sure.
> 
> I don't just LIKE that, I LOVE it,
> Robert





SmokinVOLfan said:


> Wow Jeff! Hard to say much else. That is a beautiful presented meal my friend. Thanks for posting the recipes as well.





Smokin' in AZ said:


> Dang Jeff, that is one fantastic lookin' meal brother!
> 
> Way more work than I would put in, but the result speaks volumes.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys for the likes and compliments. It was honestly one of my favorite meals of the year. 

 txsmoker
 beef kofta is delcious too. 

 SmokinVOLfan
 the cheese sauce is far to thick as is to use as salad drsssing. If anyone replicates this I can’t stress enough the importance of the sweet pickled onions. Their contrast to the saltiness of the kofta and feta is money.


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## chef jimmyj (Jun 29, 2020)

I love the flavor combo of Lebanese food. All looks great...JJ


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## xray (Jun 30, 2020)

Wow Jeff! That is a killer looking meal! Lots of flavors going on there. Never had lamb kofta but would like to try.

I bought more halloumi cheese yesterday, I’m going to be making more skewers at some point.


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