Farm to Table Recipe for Kafta Kabobs, Baba Ganoush, and Pita Bread

 In America, our style of barbecue was born in thebrgreat forests of olden days. Our forefathers hadbraccess to limitless amounts of firewood, so they werebrable to slowly roast huge sides of beef or pork onbrfires that burned for days. We inherited our lovebr

br

of briskets and other large cuts of meat from thebrlong-burning fires of our ancestors.br

br

But trees have always been scarce in the deserts of Arabia.brBarbecue in the Middle East evolved over the treeless centuriesbrinto small cuts of meat that could be grilled quickly over abrmodest fire. This fast-grilling tradition produced the kaftabrkabob.br

br

A kafta kabob is a skewer of ground meat seasoned with herbsbrand spices and grilled over a fire. The kafta kabob brings abrunique and exotic flavor to the table. And because they cookbrso quickly, it is easy to grill your kafta to perfection.br

br

Traditional Middle Eastern kafta is made from mutton. Butbrlocal mutton is hard to find because sheep are difficult to raisebrin the heat and humidity of the Coastal Bend. For this recipe,brwe used our own grass-fed ground beef and seasoned the kafta with garlic, onions, parsley, and mint from the garden.brCumin and cinnamon give kafta kabobs their signature MiddlebrEastern flavor.br

br

Baba ganoush is a dip made from eggplant, tahini (sesamebrseed paste), garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Grilling the egg-brplant gives your baba ganoush its smoky flavor while removingbrthe phenolic compounds that can make eggplant bitter. Bababrganoush can be served on top of your kafta kabobs or as a dipbrfor vegetables or pita bread.br

br

You can grill your pita bread along with the kafta and egg-brplant, or finish it on a cast iron skillet. Homemade pita is thebrperfect complement to your kafta kebob and brings an authen-brtic flair to this dish.br

br

These recipes are perfect for a simple and healthy weeknightbrmeal for the family. And these dishes are so flavorful and outbrof the ordinary, they will make a wonderful addition to anybrweekend grilling party.br

br

Bringing the Middle East to your grill has never been so easy.

br

br