Recipe: When burgers get boring, consider kofta, the party patties

Onions, herbs, and spices transform ground meat Middle East style

Kofta are bite-sized burgers prized by Middle Eastern cultures.

Patting ground beef into burgers is a classic American recipe that has earned the devotion of generations of families. With a little more work, you can offer your customers the Middle East’s version, fortified with onion, herbs, and spices.

Kofta can be molded onto skewers for grilling, or simply shaped into peach-sized patties to avoid the stickwork. While burgers are one-to-a-customer items, platters of kofta and fixings like tzatziki or toum are a worthy addition to a buffet setup, where guests can snack on one or two, or pile their plate into entree territory.