Gordon Ramsay’s lamb kofta recipe is 500g of minced lamb mixed with sautéed onion, garlic, toasted cumin, chilli flakes, parsley and mint, rolled into golf balls, flattened into 1cm patties and griddled for 5 to 6 minutes. Served with a mint and yoghurt dressing made in a pestle and mortar. Ready in 25 minutes.
The recipe is from Ultimate Home Cooking, where Ramsay says “these spicy Middle Eastern meatballs make a great midweek supper either with a crisp green salad, or stuffed inside a warmed pitta bread.” He recommends his beetroot houmous with za’atar sprinkle as a side.
In the video, Ramsay shares the tip nobody else gives: “one of the biggest problems cooking koftas is that they move them too early and they start to break up. Let them grill and they’ll naturally lift off the bars once they’re charcoaled.” Leave them alone. That’s it.
Gordon Ramsay’s Lamb Koftas
Course: DinnerCuisine: Middle Eastern, BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes8
minutes385
kcal23
minutesLamb koftas with mint and yoghurt dressing from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking. Minced lamb with toasted cumin and fresh herbs, flattened into patties and griddled. Ramsay also has a leaner version in Healthy Lean and Fit using mixed lamb and turkey mince at 561 kcal. Approximately 385 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
- For the Koftas:
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Chilli flakes, to taste
500g (1 lb 2 oz) minced lamb
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Dressing:
Small bunch of mint, leaves only
½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
2 to 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
- Cook the onion base: Place a small frying pan over medium heat with a dash of oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the ground cumin seeds and chilli flakes and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Mix the lamb: Put the lamb into a mixing bowl. Add the onion mixture, chopped parsley, chopped mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.
- Shape the koftas: Roll the mixture into pieces the size of golf balls and flatten into patties about 1cm thick. Place on a plate drizzled with oil and drizzle the tops with more oil. Cover and chill for about 10 minutes to firm up.
- Make the dressing: Put the mint into a mortar and bash with the pestle to bruise it. Add the yoghurt, toasted cumin seeds, black pepper and lemon juice. Mix well and adjust seasoning.
- Griddle the koftas: Place a griddle pan over medium-high heat. When hot, griddle the koftas for 5 to 6 minutes, turning halfway through so that both sides are well browned.
- Serve: Serve the koftas warm with the dressing on the side.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay flatten koftas into patties instead of sausage shapes?
In the video he says “I much prefer the nice little sort of almost like little mini burgers, like little mini sliders.” Patties cook faster and more evenly than sausage shapes because both sides get full contact with the griddle.
His Healthy Lean and Fit version does the opposite: sausage-shaped koftas grilled for 8 to 10 minutes. That recipe uses mixed lamb and turkey mince bound with egg and breadcrumbs, so the sausage shape holds together under the grill. The UHC patties are pure lamb with no binder, so flattening them gives more surface area for browning and less risk of falling apart.
Why chill the koftas before cooking?
Ten minutes in the fridge firms the fat in the lamb. Cold patties hold their shape on a hot griddle. Warm patties spread and stick. Ramsay says in the video: “oil your plate, that way when you set them in the fridge they don’t need to be oiled again.” Oil underneath, oil on top.
He also says “keep your hands lightly oiled and it helps to stop the lamb sticking to your fingers” while shaping. Two simple tricks that stop the mess before it starts. The dressing uses the same mortar technique as his chimichurri: fresh herbs bashed, not blended, so the texture stays coarse and alive.
How do you stop koftas breaking on the griddle?
Ramsay’s answer from the video: “one of the biggest problems cooking koftas is that they move them too early and they start to break up. Let them grill and they’ll naturally lift off the bars once they’re charcoaled.” Wait until the underside has a proper crust before flipping. If they stick, they’re not ready.
His lamb burger uses the same principle. Don’t touch the patty until it releases itself. The crust is both flavour and structural support.
Can you make your own lamb mince for koftas?
Ramsay includes a specific tip in the book: “you can make your own mince in a food processor, using trimmed shoulder, belly or neck fillet. Use the sharp cutting blade, adding cubed meat in stages and using the pulse button. If you add too much meat, or set the processor on continuous speed, the meat will become mushy.”
Home-ground mince has a coarser texture that gives the koftas more bite. Shop mince is often processed too fine and can turn dense. If you buy pre-made, go for 20% fat lamb mince. Leaner mince dries out on the griddle.
What should you serve with lamb koftas?
Ramsay says in the book: serve “with a crisp green salad, or stuffed inside a warmed pitta bread with lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes.” He also recommends his beetroot houmous with za’atar.
For something more substantial, his couscous salad echoes the cumin in the koftas. His Moroccan carrot salad pairs well too: grated carrots with orange zest and toasted cumin, fresh and crunchy against the rich lamb. Both are Middle Eastern in flavour and take minutes to make. For a sharper alternative to the yoghurt dressing, his mint sauce uses white wine vinegar and shallot instead of yoghurt and lemon.
