Tomato Kofte Traybake

Spiced lamb kofte stuffed inside ripe tomatoes, baked in a bubbling tomato sauce until blistered and charred on top. This is comfort food with a Mediterranean edge - the kind of dish you bring to the table in the pan and let everyone dig in. The bulgur wheat in the kofte keeps them light and the tomato sauce pulls everything together. Brilliant with warm flatbread and a sharp chopped salad.

Ingredients

Kofte

• 500g minced lamb (or beef)
• 50g coarse bulgur wheat, cooked and cooled
• Half an onion, very finely diced
• 1 tsp salt
• Half tsp black pepper

Sauce and Tomatoes

• 16 ripe tomatoes, halved horizontally
• 30g butter
• 4 garlic cloves (3 thinly sliced, 1 halved)
• 200g passata or tinned chopped tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Serve

• Flatbreads (pide, lavash, or pitta)
• 150g natural yogurt, seasoned with salt
• Half a cucumber, finely diced
• 1 pomegranate, seeds removed
• Half a red or green pepper, finely diced
• Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Juice of half a lemon
• Chilli flakes (Aleppo or Urfa preferred)
• Ground sumac

Method

1. Cook the bulgur wheat in salted boiling water for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to cool.
2. Scoop the flesh and seeds from the tomato halves into a bowl, reserving the juice. Season the empty tomato cavities with salt and turn them upside down on a plate to drain.
3. Combine the mince, cooled bulgur, diced onion, salt, and pepper. Mix vigorously for a couple of minutes until the mixture holds together well.
4. Melt the butter in a pan over a moderate heat. Fry the sliced garlic for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the passata and reserved tomato juice. Season and simmer for 15-20 minutes until thick.
5. Pour the tomato sauce into a round baking dish. Shape the meat mixture into 16 equal balls. Nestle each ball into a tomato half, then cap with another tomato half. Arrange the stuffed tomatoes in the sauce.
6. Place under high heat in your pizza oven for 3-5 minutes until blistered and charred on top. Transfer to a lower heat and bake for 8-10 minutes until cooked through - cut one open to check there is no pink in the centre. A probe thermometer should read at least 70C. Rest for 5 minutes.
7. While resting, combine the salad ingredients. Warm the flatbreads briefly in the oven. Serve the traybake with flatbread, yogurt, chopped salad, and a scattering of chilli flakes and sumac.