We made this for the Super Bowl, and it was great on the buffet table, but it would be just as good as a main dish. Serve it with a brown rice and vegetable pilaf, and a Greek salad for the perfect meal.

Kofte is traditionally a seasoned lamb “meatball” on a skewer, from the Middle East. This vegan version is adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Zucchini Kofte
Green * Serves 6

1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup packed cilantro sprigs
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
canola oil for frying

for sauce:
1 cup plain soy yogurt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

For the sauce, mix the soy yogurt, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro in a small bowl. Refrigerate, allowing the flavors to blend while you make the kofte.

Coarsely grate the zucchini in a food processor. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Pulse the garlic, parsley leaves, and cilantro leaves in the food processor until finely chopped.
Press the zucchini in the colander to get out some liquid. Then put the zucchini in a clean, dry dish towel (not terrycloth) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork. Add the breadcrumbs, cumin, coriander, pepper, and the parsley-cilantro-garlic mixture and stir to combine. Add the zucchini, breaking it up, and combining everything well.

Form the mixture into balls, using 2 Tablespoons of the mixture for each ball. Place them on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a skillet over medium heat, place enough oil to generously film the bottom of the pan (about 2 Tablespoons in a 12″ skillet). When the oil shimmers, add some of the kofte (don’t crowd the pan). Brown them on several sides, blot on paper towels, and put back on the rimmed baking sheet. When all the kofte are browned, cook them through in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with yogurt sauce.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 7th, 2011 at 2:17 am and is filed under Menu suggestions, Recipes, Vegan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.