Baked Kafta with Tahini Sauce

{Untested Recipe}

• 1 pound medium Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, ½ thinly sliced, ½ roughly chopped, reserved separately
• 2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• ½ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley to serve
• 1 jalapeño chili, stemmed and seeded (I skip this)
• 1 tablespoon ghee or salted butter, room temperature
• 1 pound 80 percent lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons baharat (

• 1 pound medium Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, ½ thinly sliced, ½ roughly chopped, reserved separately
• 2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• ½ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley to serve
• 1 jalapeño chili, stemmed and seeded (I skip this)
• 1 tablespoon ghee or salted butter, room temperature
• 1 pound 80 percent lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons baharat ((or sub with 1.5 teaspoons coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon paprika)
• Tahini Sauce ½ cup tahini
  • ¼ cup boiling water (or more)
  • ¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
  • ¼ cup lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

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1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 450°F.
2. Place tahini in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the boiling water. Add yogurt, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Measure 2 tablespoons of the tahini sauce into another small bowl to use for brushing; reserve the remainder for serving. I will make tahini sauce much looser and will not brush on meat and cook, but rather pour over top when serving.
3. In a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, toss the potatoes with the oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Shingle the slices in the pie plate in concentric circles. Scatter on the sliced onion and pour in ¼ cup water. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the foil and bake until a skewer inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance, about another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; leave the oven on.
5. In a food processor, combine the chopped onion, the garlic, parsley and jalapeño. Process until finely chopped, scraping the bowl once or twice, about 1 minute. Add the ghee and pulse until combined, 8 to 10 pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the beef, baharat, 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Using your hands, mix until well combined. Lightly moisten your hands to prevent sticking, then shape the mixture into nine 3-inch cigars (about ¼ cup each) and place them, evenly spaced, on top of the potato-onion mixture.
6. Bake until the kefta begin to brown and release some juices, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pie plate from the oven and brush the kefta with the 2 tablespoons reserved tahini sauce. Return to the oven and bake until the kefta are nicely browned and the centers reach 160°F, another 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with the tahini sauce, lemon wedges and pita.