Skip to main content

Armenian Kofta with Mashed Potato, Pine Nuts, and Raisins

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 mealy potato, weighing about 12 ounces
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
Vegetable oil for frying
1 pound ground lean lamb or veal
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup black or golden raisins
Flour

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Peel and boil the potato in salted water until tender, then drain. Put it back in the pan, mash it, and dry it out thoroughly over medium heat.

    Step 2

    Fry the pine nuts in a drop of oil, shaking the pan to brown them lightly all over.

    Step 3

    Mix the ground meat with the mashed potato and add the egg, salt, and pepper. Knead vigorously by hand until well mixed and smooth. Work the pine nuts and raisins into the meat-and-potato mixture.

    Step 4

    Shape into walnut-sized balls and flatten them slightly. Dip them in flour to coat them lightly all over, and deep-fry in medium-hot oil, turning them over once, until crisp and brown.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
Read More
Like spicy carrot rigatoni and weeknight-fancy ravioli with peas.
Like lemony baked salmon and strawberry shortcake roll.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
This one-pot dinner cooks chicken thighs directly on top of a bed of flavorful cilantro rice studded with black beans for a complete dinner.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
A warmly spiced Ashkenazi charoset, perfect for your Passover seder—or spooned over yogurt the next morning.
Crispy, Parmesan-crusted cutlets make this spring dish sing.
A feel-good dinner designed to cram a ton of veg in each serving.