About three years ago, Sascha was a guest at an unforgettable evening event in Hamburg. A restaurant guide had invited the best 50 German chefs to come together. When the event ended early in the morning, a small group of people stood together and – night owls know the phenomenon – an appetite that could no longer be ignored set in, Kevin Fehling, head chef at the Hamburg restaurant “The Table” (the only three-star restaurant of the city), a visit to a very special Turkish restaurant in the station district.
Turkish cuisine is exceptional. A Mediterranean cuisine, comparable to the Greek, just with an oriental touch. That’s what characterizes Turkey: the country is European and Asian at the same time. Anyone who has ever been to Istanbul certainly knows the long bridge that connects the two continents. One of the rare places where the juxtaposition of Orient and Occident becomes extremely vivid.
It was three o’clock in the morning when Sascha entered the restaurant where a friend of Kevin Fehling’s is the chef. And then the dishes were served according to all the rules of Turkish cuisine. Lahmacun – Turkish pizza – but not the kind you get at the corner shop, but the very finest way. Kofte, the famous meatballs, also prepared in a way that Sascha felt, for the first time in his life, was real to eat kofte. There was doner kebab as well as lamb brain soup. Red chili peppers and eggplant paste. Tomato salad consisting of delicious tomatoes, onions, chopped parsley, garlic and lemon. The food was spicy, sour, mild and fresh at the same time. New plates were placed on the table every few minutes, bordering on a feast. The food was also communicative. If a new dish keeps sailing down the table, there is always something to eat and something to talk about. That’s what cooks love to do: talk about ingredients and preparations.
Back home in Velbert, inspired by the evening, Sascha put together his own recipe. No, not for lamb brain soup. This is something for culinary adventurers. But for kofta. What we appreciate about kofte is what we always appreciate about dishes: everyone knows the dish. Everyone thinks they know what it tastes like. But you can vary and tune it in detail, and then it’s suddenly the star on the dining table. But enough of the preamble. Here comes the recipe:
Take 250 grams of ground beef and 250 grams of ground lamb. Plus two egg yolks. One red onion, finely chopped. Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped. Four tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley. A pinch of cumin and a pinch of sumac, a typical oriental spice; You’ve probably tasted it before, perhaps without knowing it’s sumac. Also: a teaspoon of hot paprika powder. A teaspoon of sweet paprika powder. Three tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Knead all the ingredients into a compact mass (it is advisable to wear tight gloves when doing this) and form balls. They should be the size of ping-pong balls, but not round, but oval. Fry the balls in olive oil in a coated pan. Or put them on the grill. Also tastes great.
Tsatsiki and fresh flatbread are recommended as side dishes, which are best placed on the grill (or toasted or fried). Lemon goes wonderfully with beef paired with lamb – a bowl of it should not be missing. We also recommend a tomato and cucumber salad with red onions, seasoned solely with oil, pepper and salt. No vinegar. To drink, it can be Ayran, the delicious drink from the Middle East made from yoghurt, water and salt. If you are not a fan of Turkish cuisine after such a feast, we cannot help you.
Walter Stemberg and his son Sascha run the star restaurant “Haus Stemberg” in Velbert, whose star in the “Guide Michelin” restaurant guide was recently confirmed for the ninth year in a row. The Stembergs write about the basics of cooking in WELT AM SONNTAG. All episodes to read online: www.welt.de/kochschule
