Kafta bil Sanieh- Baked Kafta

Kafta bil Sanieh, a Lebanese casserole made with Lebanese meat patties, potatoes, onions and tomato slices that are layered and baked in a thick tomato sauce.

What is Kafta bil Sanieh?

Kafta is the Lebanese version of meatballs, made with a very simple mix of ground meat, — usually beef, lamb, or a combination of both — Middle Eastern spices, finely chopped onions and parsley. Kafta bil sanieh, translates to “kafta in a tray” in Arabic. It is basically the baked version of kafta kabob and my Kafta stew dish and it’s best enjoyed with Lebanese rice. If you have any kafta leftover, be sure to check out my Arayes Kafta recipe!

What You’ll Need to Make Kafta Bil Sanieh:

(Scroll all the way down for exact measurements and a printable option)

• Ground beef
• Onion
• Parsley
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Tomato paste
• Tomato sauce
• Olive oil
• Middle Eastern spices: all spice, cinnamon, black pepper
• Salt

How to Make Kafta bil Sanieh- Baked Kafta:

Prepare and bake the potatoes:

• Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a baking sheet with cooking spay.
• Wash, peel and slice potatoes into 1/4 inch round slices.
• Arrange potato slices on baking sheet and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Bake until just tender but not all the way cooked through. About 20 mins, flipping half way through.
• Set aside.

Prepare kafta pattties:

• In a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, add parsley, onion, salt and pulse until finely minced.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the beef and spices and mix well by hand until incorporated.
• Heap 1-2 tablespoons of the kafta mixture and shape into a patty. Since we’re not precooking the kafta, make sure they are not too thick so they cook through.
• Repeat for the rest of the kafta mixture, arrange on a plate and set aside.

Prepare the other veggies:

• Slice the tomatoes and onion into round slices and set aside. 

Assemble the Kafta casserole dish. 

• Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
• In the prepared baking dish, layer the kafta patties, tomatoes and potatoes vertically. My layout was: one kafta patty, followed by one onion slice, two potato slices then a tomato slice and so on.
• In a measuring measuring cup, thin tomato paste with 1 cup of water.
• Pour thinned tomato paste all over the assembled kafta casserole. Also pour the tomato sauce, making sure all the veggies and kafta are coated.

Bake:

• Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 40-60 minutes, or until potato is soft and kafta is cooked through.

Serve:

• With Lebanese rice if you’d like and enjoy!

How to Make Kafta bil Sanieh- Kafta bil Saniyeh:

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Kafta bil Sanieh

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Kafta bil Sanieh, a Lebanese casserole made with Lebanese meat patties, potatoes, onions and tomato slices that are layered and baked in a thick tomato sauce.

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Ingredients

To make the kafta balla

• 1 lb ground beef (10-15% fat)
• 1 large onions- halved
• 1 parsley bunch- stems removed (about 1.5-2 cups parsley leaves)
• 1 teaspoon ground all Spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

To assemble the baked kafta tray:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 potatoes- peeled and sliced into circles
• 2 ripe tomatoes- sliced into circles
• 1 white onion- sliced into circles
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Instructions

Prepare the Kafta Patties:

1. In a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, add parsley, onion, salt and pulse until finely minced.
2. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the beef and spices and mix well by hand until incorporated.
3. Heap 1-2 tablespoons of the kafta mixture and shape into a patty. Since we're not precooking the kafta, make sure they are not too thick so they cook through.
4. Repeat for the rest of the kafta mixture, arrange on a plate and set aside.

Bake the Potatoes:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a baking sheet with cooking spay.
2. Wash, peel and slice potatoes into 1/4 inch round slices.
3. Arrange potato slices on baking sheet and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
4. Bake for 20 mins, flipping half way through.
5. Set aside.

Assemble the Baked Kafta Casserole:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
In the prepared baking dish, layer the kafta patties, tomatoes and potatoes vertically. My layout was: one kafta patty, followed by one onion slice, two potato slices then a tomato slice and so on.
In a measuring measuring cup, thin tomato paste with 1 cup of water.
Pour thinned tomato paste all over the assembled kafta casserole. Also pour the tomato sauce, making sure all the veggies and kafta are coated.
Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 40-60 minutes, or until potato is soft and kafta is cooked through.
Serve either Lebanese rice and enjoy!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 378Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 962mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 30g

Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

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