These eggcellent lamb koftas, aubergine and lettuce salad boats are one of those dishes that can be prepared for almost any time in the day whether that's a brunch, lunch or dinner. Not to say what a perfect choice would be for parties. It will make a nice platter any time and for any occasion.
How did the lamb koftas on salad boat idea come about...
I've made it for dinner last night after a day of running around. One of those crazy Saturdays that we have had loads to do. My idea for this dish came as usual after opening the fridge. There was some gem lettuce that was really nice and super fresh, some organic aubergines baked the night before. Three hard-boiled eggs that I have boiled for lunch but never got to eat or use. Oh, and some freshly bought lamb or mutton mince from my local butcher. I believe it was mutton as it was so flavorsome. Mutton is superb and I like it slightly more than lamb only because it has more flavor.
I did fancy something lighter for dinner and truthfully, I was not in the mood for lengthy cooking. I've pictured this dish in my head in just a few minutes after arriving in the kitchen. It was exactly that and the dinner was served in absolutely no time.
Homemade hollandaise sauce is best ...
The hollandaise sauce was also a homemade one that I had made just days before. I do make some every now and again and store them in the fridge, it's delicious. If you don't fancy making your own hollandaise sauce try this Yogurt Mint Sauce.
Love little ones around the kitchen ...
Kiddos helped mummy a great deal with assembling the dish hence I cannot complain for a second about how eggs were sliced, the way these little boats were arranged, or what the dish looked like in the end. If I ever dare to complain I guess I will no longer see or get any help around the kitchen so, I am a super happy mummy. But they do look great, right? A family meal it's a family meal and it should look just like this, not like a Michelin-style one so everyone can replicate ;-).
It's so nice to have the little helpers around the kitchen, I cannot explain how happy that makes me.
Coming back to these yummy lamb koftas, there are so many ways we can make those, I will be giving you some more ideas later on. I do hope to remember. They contain lean meat and are very healthy too.
I have made them this way which is slightly different from the traditional way which is normally like a meatball or meat around skewers. I have made them a flat meatball most probably not the most traditional way and instead of grilling, I have pan-cooked them. They were delicious which is what matters the most ultimately.
I do sometimes bake the koftas in the oven, it depends on the time and mood. This time I was in the mood to use a pan-cooked them with just a brushing of coconut oil. You can fry them if you wish and like.
Eggs, spicy lamb koftas and salad boats
Equipment
- bowl
- pan
- chopping board
- knife
- grater
- pot
Ingredients
- 4 eggs boiled
- 3 potatoes boiled optional
- 2 gem lettuces
- 2 aubergines cut into rounds and salted
- 1 tablespoon hollandaise sauce
- Parsley to garnish
- ½ pomegranate seeds
- 2 tablespoon Sriracha sauce or chillies optional *
For the koftas:
- 250 g lamb mince or beef
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ onion grated
- 2 clove garlic grated
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch chilli flakes or cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger or powder
- ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 9 sprigs parsley super finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil to fry optional
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients (salad, potatoes, eggs and aubergine) and by this I mean wash all, slice the aubergines, hard boil the eggs and boil the potatoes. This should take about 10 mins to prepare.
- Put the aubergine slices into a bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt over them. Set aside and give them a shake or a stir every now and again. After about 20 min of resting take all out and gently squeeze off any water. Fry in a nonstick pan with some oil or oil spray. Set aside.
- Let's make the koftas by taking a medium-sized bowl out and literally mix all kofta ingredients including the mashed/grated garlic. I usually use a small grater or a mortar and pestle to make it a paste. Add some salt to help with the process. Mix everything well until well blended together.
- Form the mixture into med sized balls and slightly flatten these between the palms to form the koftas which will look like patties or med to small-sized burgers.
- Place a skillet, a non-stick frying pan or a griddle pan over medium heat, and add some tiny amount of oil. I used coconut oil so it doesn't smoke that easily. I literally just brushed the bottom of the pan with coconut oil.
- Cook the koftas in the pan for about 2-3 min on each side or depending on the level and the degree of doneness you wish those to be. Cooking them for 3 min on each side will result in them being medium so 1 extra minute on each side will mean well done.
- When all ready, assemble the dish by breaking the salad leaves slice the boiled eggs and the potatoes and place all on a platter. First, the leaves and then scatter around the aubergine slices topped by either egg slice or a kofta. Use your imagination.
- At the very end, add a little knob of hollandaise sauce on the egg slices or Sriracha sauce on the koftas. Sprinkle some parsley and the pomegranate seeds and enjoy. Super delicious.
Notes
There are so many ways you can make the koftas, with onion, without onion, mixing and combining lamb with beef mince, mixing the spices as you wish or like. This is what excites me about food and I know not everybody is the same but the fact that you get to mix ingredients and each time has a different taste in food despite cooking the same dish it’s just magnificent. I cannot tell you how bored I’d be to eat the same koftas or exactly the same dish over and over every time. Regarding the aubergines, I mentioned using a little oil or even an oil spray. I normally brush them with a tiny amount of olive oil. I only use a little because aubergines are one of those really greedy ‘guys' that absorb every bit of oil you put in the pan. But of course, for extra taste feel free to deep fry them. They’re ever better, taste-wise. Delicious. The time of 25 min mentioned above it took me to make this recipe because I had the eggs and the aubergines ready. If you have to make these will be extra time of course. I do have this habit to boil extra eggs and keep in the fridge for this kind of quick delicious meals. I have made those fairly spicy by adding more than just a pinch of chilli flakes in some and left a few less spicy for kiddos. I have not used Sriracha sauce this time but I normally love it with meatballs or these lovely and super tasty koftas. Kids would have believed their mummy has lost taste buds senses if I was to add more spiciness to these. Oh, of course, I did in my plate though. Some extra red chillies were just amazing.
jill says
Wow this recipe is so good! Super fun to try something new and different!
Ramona says
Thank you dear Jill
Geannine says
I so love your pictures and cannot hold myself from commenting. This lamb koftas - OMG I so want hem right now and will definitely make them when my first BBQ will come 😉 they look delicious 😉
Ramona says
Awwe, thank you so much! I am so happy to hear you like my recipe. I really hope you will give these koftas a try soon. You will not be disappointed ??
Patty says
This looks so flavorful and delicious, I love koftas but never have made them, so happy to have found your recipe, can't wait to make them, in your salad boats they will be delicious to the max!
Ramona says
Thank you dearly Patty, I really hope you will enjoy the koftas when you to make them - they are super easy to make, they are quite fun 😉
Brian Jones says
Now that is a real treat, I love cooking with lamb and mutton and this recipe sounds fantastic.
Ramona says
Thank you so much Brian 😉 xx
Amanda says
Love all the photos, Ramona!
Ramona says
Thank you Amanda xx
Beth Neels says
Oh my word, Ramona! These are just bursting with flavor! What a delightful combination! I can't wait to try them!
Ramona says
They so are dearest Beth. flavour written all over this dish. I do hope you will make them soon and fully enjoy! Thank you so much my lovely, have a great weekend!
Julie says
I love homemade hollandaise too! What a big difference. Love this twist on lamb with the salad boats.
Ramona says
Hi Julie,
Thank you so much - homemade hollandaise sauce is soo good, right? Huge difference in flavours and cannot really be compared with the market one. Thank you again. Have a wonderful weekend lovely! 😉