Keftedes stuffed with cheese



I don't have to be Greek to love and cook Greek food right? In fact, the Greek love to eat, who doesn't? I remember the first time I went to Greece, it was long time ago, maybe 10 years ago, I fell in love with it and vowed to return; the dreamy beaches, the beautiful coastline, the culture, the lively nightlife, and especially the lovely tavernas, the simple eateries where families eat, drink and converse, an ideal setting to savor a communal meal.
And because I love Greek food, one of my favorite blogger is Peter of Kalofagas - Greek food & beyond. This recipe was on my to-do list for quite a while, and last night I decided I want to make it. Nothing beats the tantalizing smell of melted cheese. Peter suggests we use Kasseri cheese, a Greek cheese made of goat's milk. It has a creamy, sweet and mild taste. It also melts a lot quicker than haloumi and some of the other Greek cheeses. You can however also use haloumi, gouda, feta, or even Gran padano.

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 kg. of medium ground beef 
2 medium onions, grated 
4 slices of bread, soaked in water (or milk), hand squeezed and then crumbled
1 tbsp grated fresh garlic
2 eggs (for binding)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp chopped parsley
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 inch flat squares of cheese (Vlahotyri or Kasseri)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well using your hands.
Form palm-sized patties with your hands, then squish them into flat patties and reserve in a platter. Cover with cling-wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Before grilling, allow the keftedes to come back to room temperature. Take your piece of cheese and place it in the middle of one pattie. Now place another pattie on top and press the two patties together to form one larger keftede. Now using your fingers, pinch the entire perimeter of your pattie so that when you grill, the Keftede will hold together and your cheese will not leak.
Grill on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes a side.


Keftedes au fromage
Ingrédients (6 personnes):
1 kg. de bœuf haché 
2 oignons gratés 
4 pains de mie, trempés dans de l'eau (ou dans du lait), puis bien égouttés et émiéttés
1 càs d'ail pressé
2 œufs
1 càc d'origan
1 càs de persil haché
pincée de cumin
sel et poivre selon goût
fromage coupé en dés (Vlahotyri ou Kasseri/halloumi-gouda-gran padano)

Mélangez tous les ingrédients dans un bol avec les mains.
Formez des boulettes dans la paume de votre main, aplatissez-les
afin d'obtenir un disque et réservez-les dans un plat de service. Couvrez avec un film alimentaire et réfrigérez-les pendant au moins 4 heures.
Laissez revenir à température ambiante au moins 30 minutes avant de les griller. Prenez votre morceau de fromage et placez-le au milieu d'un disque. Maintenant, placez un autre disque sur le dessus et appuyez sur les deux disques. En utilisant vos doigts, pincez le pourtour de votre keftede de sorte que lorsque vous la griller, la Keftede se tient ensemble et votre fromage ne coule pas.
Grillez sur feu moyen pendant environ 5 minutes de chaque côté.


Comments

  1. Oh mercy! These look fantastic!! :-) I bet that grated onion makes them absolutely amazing. :-)

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  2. Hello, found your blog from the comment you left on mine (and thank you very much :)) and I have to say it looks absolutely beautiful. The whole blog of course, but also these Keftedes. I am Greek, and I love Greek food and these look absolutely yummy I'm definitely going to give them a go!

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  3. WOW! WOW! These look incredible. My stomach is tuggging on me to get cooking.

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  4. great idea with this cheese :)

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  5. Chico, the stuffed keftedes look fabulous! No, you don't have to be Greek to enjoy Greek food. Delighted you enjoyed the meal!

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  6. The oozing cheese is amazing. I love all sorts of food too. Food is a unifier for us all. :)

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  7. I love the melting cheese inside those keftedes, yum!

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  8. This must be the most beautiful beef balls I have seen, with those gooey, melted cheese oozing out...mmmm. I wish I can try it.

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  9. I love the pictures of these beautiful beef balls. But I don't eat beef and I would be trying this with Lamb!

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  10. That oozing cheese would instantly have me addicted. What a delicious looking dish.

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  11. nice. i love the way that cheese is oozing out.

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  12. I have tried Peter's recipe many times and can attest to the fact that it is worth every bite.

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  13. Anything with melted cheese centre will become my favourite. This one is no exception.

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  14. Avec le fromage fondant et coulant, quel régal!!

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  15. I love cheesy stuff :-)) A pity that my husband can't stand cheese at all. ;-( He calls them "rotten milk" .

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  16. Elles ont l'air délicieuses tes boulettes!

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  17. These look absolutely delicious! I was just looking at these in a cookbook hubby bought for me yesterday and was thinking that I would like to make this soon :)

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  18. oooh I am going to Greece in about a month! As if I need more reason to be excited about the food :)

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  19. ta kefteh est succulente avec ce coeur au fromage hmmmm

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  20. The melty, oozing cheese looks fantastic!

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  21. These sound completely amazing - similar to my favorite stuffed meatballs. I love Greek food!

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  22. Hi Cherine,

    Enjoy your blog and posts. I have an award to share with you. Hope you will visit soon http://rotinrice.blogspot.com/2010/04/soybean-sprout-and-dried-tofu-stir-fry.html.

    Biren

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  23. I made an identical recipe
    My balls with besides of jar on the fire, goes to see you are going to like...
    I realized them in March
    Goodbye

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  24. These are gorgeous! My compliments to you and Peter. I'll be trying this very soon. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  25. Meme si je ne suis pas carnivore, je trouve ces petites boulettes farcies au fromage très tentantes, et puis comment résister a ces magnifiques photos?

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  26. I love stuffed keftedes and it has been a while since I made some! These look fantastic. Great job!

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  27. I have never tried this dish but your looks amazing- definitely going to give this one a whirl.

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  28. Anything stuffed with cheese HAS to taste good! I don't think I've ever had keftedes...thanks for the introduction!

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  29. A wonderful dish! Your keftedes look really scrumptious. Yummy!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  30. A very tempting shot! Look at that leaking cheese! Drooling! I do love these. We call it kasarli kofte. I guess our kasar is the same with Greek kasseri cheese.

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  31. ça a l'air vraiment excellent!!!

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  32. bravo tes boulettes sont succulentes et donnes envie avec ce fromage fondu
    passe une bonne journée

    pierre de Paris

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  33. Wow, all the cheese oozing out is making my mouth water. They look fabulous!

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  34. Those look so good with all of that cheese oozing out!

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  35. Looks so delicious!
    I must try these!

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  36. Oh heck, this looks goooood! I've just come back from a trip to Istanbul, which completely converted me to insatiable meat eating! This fits right into my new mood! Yum!!!

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  37. These look delicious. Cheese oozing out the middle, done and done!

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  38. OMG! Everything here looks so yummy and you have great pictures, they are very convincing makes me really hungry. :-)

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  39. Devine! Orgasmic I am going to try this for dinner tonight! The pic makes my mouth water!

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  40. these look super good....love the cheese surprise in the middle.

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  41. I'm first generation Sicilian, and your keftedes remind me of my mom's cheese filled braciole. Can't wait to try these, as they look much easier to make. Thanx for all the Mediterranean dishes !
    Joe

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