Dutch Oven Kofta bi Tahini

"The Cat's Away..." Part II

Another dish that I love, but is not one of my wife's favorites is Kofta with Tahini sauce.  There are a lot of strong flavors in it, and they all blend together very nicely.  At it's most basic, it's a ground meat and potato dish, but it gets its flavors from the middle eastern spices and the tahini paste with lemon juice sauce.

Before I get into the process, there are a few special ingredients you need to acquire, and you might have to get them from a specialty store, possibly even a middle eastern market.  If you can't find them, you can do some mixing (in some cases) and some substitutions.

One ingredient you really can't substitute is the Tahini Paste.  It's like all-natural peanut butter, but it's made from ground sesame seeds.  I can usually find it in health-food stores.  It has a strong, nutty and almost bitter edge, but when combined with the lemon juice it's just plain amazing.

Another is a middle-eastern blend of spices.  This you might have to get from a middle-eastern market.  Sometimes it's just called "Middle-Eastern Spice" and sometimes it's called "Baharat".  If you can't find it, you can make it by following the blend here at wikipedia.  There are lots of different blends of baharat.  A good basic blend will include:

• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Tumeric
• Coriander

If all else fails, you can use Allspice.  It won't be the same, but it's still good.

A third issue is the meat.  Most of the time I've eaten this it's been made of ground beef.  This time, I tried it with lamb, and I think that made a big difference to the overall success of the dish this time.  Of course, lamb is pretty expensive.  In theory, you could use any ground meat, even turkey.  No self-respecting muslim would use pork, of course, but if you're a christian, or an atheist, go for it.

I first cooked this dish way back in the early days of Mark's Black Pot, and I've only done it once or twice since then.  It was taught to me by a Palestinian friend and his wife (who also provided me with the jar of home-mixed baharat).

So, let's get started, shall we?

Kofta bi Tahini in the Dutch Oven

12” Dutch Oven
10 briquettes below
16 briquettes above

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt

• 2-3 medium potatoes, quartered and sliced, or sliced like big french fries

• 1 lb ground meat (as mentioned, I used lamb this time)
• 1 Tbsp baharat spices (or equivalent)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• If you squeeze your lemon juice fresh (for the next set of ingredients), zest one of those lemons and add it here)

• 1 cup tahini paste
• ~1/2 cup lemon juice
• ~1/2 cup water

It all started by lighting up some coals, heating up the oil in the dutch oven, and sauteing the onions and the garlic. Once those were browned and translucent, I added the potatoes.  I stirred them to coat them with the oil and salt, and put the lid on.  I didn't shift the coals to the top yet, though.

Then I made the meat mixture.  It was pretty simple, I just added all of the ingredients together and mixed them all up.  Traditionally, the meat is formed into elongated meatballs, almost finger-shaped.

Then, I mixed up the tahini sauce.  This was a little trickier.  The amounts are estimates.  I stirred in equal amounts of water and lemon juice, but only a bit at a time.  You want two things to happen:  One, it needs to come to a thick soup-like consistency, and Two, it needs to balance the taste between the lemon and the tahini.  Words can't describe that balance, you just need to taste it along the way and see when it all blends right.  I just kept adding juice and water until it all looked and tasted right.  A pinch of salt will also help bring out the flavors.

Then, I opened the dutch oven lid and arranged the meat sticks on top of the potatoes and onions.  I poured the tahini sauce over it, and then dashed in about a quarter cup more water. 

I adjusted the coals to the right amounts above and below for baking, and set it to cook.  It cooked for about 45 minutes or so.  After about a half hour, the meat was getting cooked through, so I stirred it up.  If you stir it up before that, it'll all break apart.  When the potatoes are done, it's finished!

I also pulled out my 8" dutch oven and cooked up some rice.  I also made some of that cucumber and yogurt salad that was in that first blog entry I did when I made this in my dutch ovens so many years ago.  This time, however, I didn't have any tomatoes.

It was so much better this time than I'd ever made it before.  I was in heaven.  Even Jodi said it wasn't too bad when she came home.





Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye

"While the Cat's Away..." Part I

My wife went out of town this weekend, so I took that as an opportunity to cook a couple of things that she normally doesn't like very much, but which I, myself, really love.  One of those is a big ol' loaf of Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye Bread, so I can make my infamous braunschweiger and cheese sandwiches.  The other is the Dutch Oven Kofta bi Tahini that I cooked up soon after starting up this blog.

I really like a nice, sweet, flavorful white bread, but once in a while, I get rebellious.  I love the edgy, sharp flavors that a good rye bread brings.  Add some good, tangy meat and sharp cheddar, and you get a sandwich that bites back.  Yum!

While I pretty much followed the original recipes in the links, there were a few things I did differently.  As a result, I'm going to rewrite the recipes and processes here in these posts. As always, I recommend reading my Dutch Oven Bread Baking Lens fiirst, for good basic information.

Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye Bread

12" Dutch Oven

10-12 coals below
18-20 coals above

The "Sponge"

• 1 Cup Sourdough Start
• 2 Cups Dark Rye Flour
• 2 Cups White Bread Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups warm water (just almost hot to the touch)
• 2 Tbsp Vital Gluten
• 1 Tbsp Dough Enhancer (optional, but I always add it)

The Dough

• 1 Cup plain Yogurt
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tbsp Molasses
• 3 Tbsp Oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp Roasted Drink Powder (like coffee, Postum, Cocoa, or Pero)
• Liberal shakes of caraway seeds
• 1 cup white bread flour

• Up to 1-2 additional cups white bread flour during kneading

It started up the night before, when I took my sourdough start out of the fridge.  I poured off the "hooch" and mixed in some more flour and water.  I needed to "feed" it to reactivate it.  A few hours later, it was frothy and bubbly with yeast bugs.  I scooped out about a cup, and put the rest back in the fridge.

I put the frothy start in a bowl and mixed in all of the ingredients in the sponge set.  If you check out the original recipe you'll notice one change.  I moved the yogurt to the dough phase.  I've been hearing/reading that fresh (unscalded) milk and milk products contain enzymes that can inhibit the rise.

I covered it with plastic wrap and set it aside on my kitchen counter for the night.

The next morning (not too early, though), I mixed in all the ingredients of the dough set.  I used Pero for the roasted powder.  I really like the flavor of it.  I like the flavor cocoa brings, as well, but this time I chose Pero.  Postum is good, but I think it's not being made any more.  Between the rye, the powder and the molasses, it gets a nice, rich, dark color.  Not black, just a deep brown.

Then, I kneaded it on a floured tabletop, and kept adding flour until it got to the right stickiness, and until it made a good windowpane.  I set it aside to rise, oiled and covered in plastic wrap.

I'm getting this pattern established when I'm making bread and I go to set up the bake:

1. Let it rise, and watch until it has almost "risen enough".  Usually, they say to let it rise until it has doubled in bulk, so just before it gets there, I go to the next step, which is...
2. Go outside and light up the coals.  Mix them occasionally to make sure they all light pretty evenly.
3. While the coals are lighting, I come in and degas the bread dough, and shape it.  Now, most of the time I'm making a boule, so there's not much "shaping" going on, but sometimes I'll do rolls or four smaller boules.  I used to like doing a braided wreath, but it's been a while since I've done that. 
4. Oil the inside of the dutch oven and set the bread in to proof.
5. Once the coals are ready, I take the dutch oven lid outside and pour a lot of coals on top of it, and set it aside to preheat.
6. When the dough is proofed in the dutch oven (meaning it has risen some more), I do any decorating or topping, and slicing of the top.
7. Finally, I take the dutch oven out. I take some of the coals off the lid to make the undercircle of coals and I set the dutch oven with the bread on the circle.  I put on the lid, and mark the time.
8. Every fifteen minutes or so, I rotate the lid and the oven to prevent hot spots.  I check the temperature by holding my hand over the top of the oven and use that as a guide to see if the coals need replenishing.  I'll check the underside coals to see how they're burning.
9. After about a half hour of baking, I'll open the lid and check on it.  At that point, I'll usually stick a thermometer into it and close up the lid.  I try not to have the lid off for very long.  A few seconds really.
10. The next time I rotate the lid, I'll lift it for a few seconds and check the bread's internal temperature.  180 is "gettin' close".  190-200 is "done!"

So, I followed the pattern, brought it in, and let it cool on my new cooling racks (I don't know how I did bread before I had those).  Delicious stuff!  Just check the pictures!






Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

A Shameless Plug for a Great Organization and Book

As they prepare for this year's World Championship Dutch Oven Cookoff, at the Sportsman's Expo in Sandy Utah, each cooking team has to submit their recipes in advance.  This is for two reasons:  One is to have them be verified to make sure that they comply with all the rules, and the other is so that all the recipes can be compiled and published in an annual cookbook.

Now you have a chance to cook with the greats!  For only $15 (+ $3.50 S&H), you can have this commemorative cookbook, and see what's being made at the contest of the best Dutch Oven Chefs in the world.

The Top Ten Reasons to Get Your Copy of the 2010 IDOS World Championship Cookoff Cookbook!

1. It's sure to be a NY Times Bestseller.  Someday.
2. It's full of recipes by winners
3. They've been tried and tested in competition.
4. These recipes aren't bland ol' out-of-the box, open-a-can slop.  Theyt're made-from-scratch culinary delights!
5. Tired of adapting from your old Betty Crocker cookbook?  These recipes are dutch oven recipes!
6. What, you gonna learn how to cook watching "Chopped" reruns?
7. You can help support the IDOS, which helps support Dutch Oven cooking overall
8. You start off searching for recipes on the net, and somehow you end up watching Weird Al videos on YouTube.
9. It's a timeless tome that answers the deepest question life offers: "What's for dinner?"
10. It'll make you a champion cook in your own family, in your own back yard!

So, get the book and try the recipes!  Or, get the book, come to the World Championship Cook-off, and cheer on your favorite teams!


In all seriousness, I got the book from last year's cookoff, and there are some kickin' recipes in it.  Look over the recipe titles here, and you'll see that it's well worth it. It will also help support the worthy organization of the International Dutch Oven Society.

Also, since the FTC now requires full disclosure, I must say that if you buy one, I won't make a dime.





Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.



Mark's Other Blog Posts: Endorsements and Life Examples