Adana Kebab

When I lived in Turkey with my parents many years ago when they were at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work, one of the things I absolutely loved was Adana Kebab. It’s a spicy kebab made with ground lamb and fashioned into a long cylinder with some indentations in the meat to help it cook evenly. Try as I might, I can’t get it to taste exactly the same way as it did in Ankara, but I am pretty close! It is traditionally served with a rice pilaf and Coban Salatasi, or Shepherd’s Salad, and is made of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and green pepper. I like to serve it with Cacik, a traditional yogurt sauce served on the side with pita bread.

Ingredients

2 lbs. Ground lamb

1 half large white onion, grated

½ cup chopped parsley

3 garlic cloves finely minced

2 tsps. Cumin

2 tsps. Aleppo pepper

2 tsps. Sumac

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Combine the ground lamb and all of the ingredients in a large bowl with 2 tsps. sea salt and ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper. Work the ingredients together well using a little olive oil on your hands if needed.

2. Divide the meat into 8 equal kebabs and mold them into long cylinder shapes around long metal skewers if they are available. Create indentations in the meat with your thumb to allow for even cooking. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow for the meat to solidify.

3. Place on a hot gas grill waiting for the flames to die down. Turn every few minutes – in total it should take about 4 minutes to cook on each side.

4. When ready, let the meat rest and cool down. Place pita or flatbreads on the grill and turn after a minute or so. I like to serve the bread with butter, just like they did in Ankara on the side.

5. Serve immediately with the salad and Cacik.