When executive chef Jonathan McDowell shared the recipe, he said, “It’s a dish that really embodies what we do at Elektra—serving bold Mediterranean flavors rooted in tradition.” I made it as a tribute to the traditional street cuisine, particularly skewered meats, which I loved growing up in a Lebanese-Egyptian household in Los Angeles.
We sampled lamb from several suppliers when developing the menu, and since the halal lamb shoulder had the perfect amount of flavor and marbling, we decided to utilize it. In addition to holding up wonderfully on the grill, it adds richness to the kofta without being overly fatty.
Elektra serves lamb kofta on a single skewer with sumac onions, grilled pepper and tomato, and toum, a Lebanese garlic sauce. The lamb kofta is pictured on the left, with an octopus skewer and a honey-harissa chicken skewer. The menu no longer includes octopuses.
In order to prepare enough meat for 60 skewers at once, the restaurant seasons lamb shoulder and brisket slices before running them through a coarse and fine meat grinder. The recipe has been modified to use ground meats. You can buy ground beef and lamb from the grocery store or ask your local butcher shop to grind brisket and lamb shoulder for you to replicate the flavor. Working the seasoned ground meat with your hands until it is entirely uniform and extremely sticky is the secret to successfully molding the mixture onto skewers.
Elektra cooks the skewers at 550 degrees on a grill. The skewers can be cooked on a very hot grill, as we suggest here, or broil them at home. It is not required to soak the bamboo skewers beforehand. To replicate Elektra’s presentation, you can grill tomatoes and peppers while the skewers are cooking.
The hot form of Oncu pepper paste, a Turkish-style mixture mainly composed of sun-dried red peppers, is used in the restaurant kitchen. It may be purchased online and at the Buford Highway Farmers Market and other Middle Eastern grocery stores, where you can also buy harissa, sumac, and Aleppo pepper.
Elektra’s Kofta with Lamb
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1 cup minced yellow onion
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1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons hot pepper paste
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1 heaping tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
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1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper
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1 tablespoon chopped parsley
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1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
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1 1/2 teaspoons sumac
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1 1/2 teaspoons harissa
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3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
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3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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3/4 pound ground beef brisket
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3/4 pound ground lamb shoulder
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Vegetable oil, for oiling grill grates
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Bamboo skewers
produces eight skewers.
18 grams of total fat (8 grams saturated), 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 538 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbs, 1 gram of total sugars, 1 gram of fiber, and 245 calories (68 percent calories from fat) per skewer.
470-470-8022, Elektra atlanta.com, Elektra’s cuisine at the Forth Hotel, 800 Rankin St. NE, Atlanta.
Would you like to recreate a recipe from a restaurant in metro Atlanta at home? We’ll try to get it if you tell us. Additionally, we will test it and modify it for the home kitchen. We are unable to respond to every question due to demand. Provide your request, address, and phone number to [email protected]. In the subject line, including the restaurant’s name and “From the menu.”
