We have been making variations of this Lamb Kofta recipe for years now- it’s one of our go-to recipes for entertaining. Although we aren’t doing much entertaining these days, we found ourselves missing all of these flavors and made a trip to Arash, our local Middle Eastern grocery store. In just about 45 minutes we made this entire Middle East Feast for our little quarantine family! There is nothing better than homemade tzatziki and a fresh cucumber tomato salad to pair with rich, lamb meatballs. We love this kofta recipe because the fresh herbs, hint of jalapeno, and loads of spices brighten up the rich lamb for a dinner we can eat all year round. 

Lamb Kofta Meatballs 
Makes: 6 servings 
Prep Time: 15 minutes    Total Time: 35 minutes 

Ingredients: 

• 2 lbs ground lamb (can use a mix of ground lamb and beef)
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and stems removed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup parsley 
• 1/2 cup mint 
• 1/3 cup walnuts 
• 2 tsp coriander 
• 1 tsp cardamom 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 tbs olive oil 
• salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Use a small blender to chop the jalapeno, garlic, parsley, mint, and walnuts. The consistency should be chopped but not paste-like. Put those ingredients in a large mixing bowl with the coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and olive oil. Whisk together.
3. Add the lamb to the mixing bowl. Get your hands dirty and mix everything well to combine. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. 
4. Form meatballs with the lamb mix that are roughly the size of large golf balls. Place them into rows on a large cookie sheet. 
5. Bake the meatballs for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with hummus, pita, tzaziki, and cucumber tomato salad.