Sini Köftesi: Adana’s Baked Kibbeh Tray

This comes from Adana, and it is the easier cousin of içli köfte — the same bulgur shell and spiced meat filling, but layered in a tray instead of shaped by hand. All the flavor, none of the shaping.

If you have ever wanted to make içli köfte and been put off by the work, start here.

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the shell

12 oz very lean ground beef, twice ground
4 cups fine bulgur (köftelik)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 onion, grated
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Water, as needed

For the filling

2 tablespoons butter
3 onions, finely diced
1 lb ground beef, medium fat
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pistachios
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt

For the top

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Method

Make the shell mixture

Put the twice-ground beef in a large bowl with the bulgur, flour, grated onion, salt, black pepper and paprika.

Work it together with your hands, adding water a little at a time, until you have a smooth paste that holds together — firm enough to press into a tray but not stiff.

Knead it properly. This needs 10 minutes of real work: the bulgur has to hydrate and the mixture has to become elastic, or the layers will crumble when you cut them.

Keep your hands wet as you work. It stops the mixture sticking and helps it come together.

Make the filling

Finely dice the onions.

Melt the butter in a pan and cook the onions until soft and golden — 10 minutes, not three. This is where the sweetness comes from.

Add the ground beef and cook until browned and any liquid has cooked away.

Add the black pepper, allspice and salt.

Take off the heat and stir in the walnuts and pistachios. Adding the nuts off the heat keeps them from going soft and bitter.

Let it cool completely. Warm filling will soften the layer beneath it.

Assemble

Preheat the oven to 400°F and butter a baking tray.

Divide the shell mixture in half.

Press the first half evenly into the tray with wet hands, working it right into the corners. Aim for an even thickness throughout.

Spread the cooled filling over it in an even layer, leaving a small margin at the edges.

Press the second half of the shell mixture over the top. The easiest way: flatten pieces between wet palms and lay them on like tiles, then smooth the seams together with wet fingers.

Smooth the surface flat.

Score into squares with a knife dipped in cold water — the cold water keeps the blade from dragging. Cut all the way through to the base, otherwise you will not be able to lift clean portions out afterward.

Pour the melted butter evenly over the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the surface is deep golden and the edges have pulled away slightly from the tray.

Rest for 10 minutes before lifting the pieces out. Straight from the oven the layers are fragile; they set as they cool.

Chef’s notes

Butter rather than margarine. Margarine is what the original recipe calls for and it works, but butter tastes considerably better here and the difference is noticeable in the top layer.

If the shell mixture cracks while you are pressing it in, wet your hands and smooth it over. Cracks open up in the oven.