Food By Maria

Make the fennel salad
2 In a large salad bowl mix together the fennel, olive oil, thinly sliced red chiles, thinly sliced radishes, crumbled feta cheese, juice of a lemon, salt and pepper. Toss to combine, top with fresh basil and mint leaves and set aside.
Make the beef and lamb kofta mixture
4 If desired, add pistachios to a food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs or finely chop with a knife.
5 To a medium bowl add the lean ground beef, ground lamb, grated yellow onion, minced garlic, finely chopped mint, finely chopped parsley, ground cumin, salt, pepper, ground cinnamon, minced chiles, finely chopped green olives and finely chopped pistachios.
6 Place the meat mixture into a large piping bag (you can also use a large ziptop bag and then cut one of the corners, about 1 inch wide, to make a homemade piping bag).
7 Heat the grill over medium-high heat, about 400-450F. Spray the grill with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Once the grill is hot, pipe the meat straight onto the grill into long logs, about 8 inches long.
8 Grill the kabobs, turning after 5 minutes, until browned all over and cooked through. Total time, about 10-15 minutes.
9 Serve with fresh pita bread, the shaved fennel salad and rice (if desired).