PROCESS: Add the red bell pepper, yellow onion, and Anaheim pepper to a food processor and run until finely minced. Place the ingredients in a cheesecloth or a kitchen towel, and squeeze the liquid out in the sink. Do this thoroughly so that the kebabs don’t have excess moisture.

COMBINE: Place the ground beef in a bowl, and top with the processed veggies. Place the food processor back in the cradle and add the parsley and garlic. Give them a few pulses until finely minced. Add this to the same bowl as the kebab mixture.

MIX: Add the remaining ingredients – pepper paste, salt, Aleppo, and paprika. Using your hands, squeeze the kebab mixture and fold until the ingredients are evenly distributed amongst the ground beef mixture. If you are smoking the meat, move to step #4, then core and refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes. If you are skipping it, cover and refrigerate now.

SMOKE: This step is optional and doesn’t apply if you cook this on a charcoal grill. It should be done at your own risk. To give the Adana kebab a charcoal flavor, heat a charcoal briquette over medium-high heat on a gas stove (preferably outdoors) until the coal lights up on all sides. Make a small basket out of aluminum foil by wrapping it around the bottom of any bottle. Place the foil basket on top of the ground beef mixture. Place lit charcoal with tongs in the foil basket. Grab a lid that will fit the bowl. Pour 1 teaspoon of oil over the hot charcoal and immediately cover it with a tight-fitting lid. Allow to ‘smoke’ for 30-45 seconds. Carefully remove the basket to sink, and pour water to extinguish. Cool and discard. Smoke at your own risk. Feel free to omit this step.

ONION SALAD: While the kebab mixture cools, make the salad. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and give them a good toss. Taste and adjust seasonings. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

MAKE SKEWERS: Using wet hands, divide the ground beef into 5 equal balls if you are using flat skewers. For round skewers, you’ll have to make them smaller. Slide the ball of beef mixture onto the skewers, then using your hands, flatten the ground beef to spread and adhere to the skewer. Then press your thumb and forefinger to create traditional kebab indents. Place the skewers in the freezer for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes so that they don’t fall apart on the grill.

GRILL: Preheat the outdoor grill to 450ºF. Clean the grates, then oil them. Place the Adana kebab skewers on the grill and let cook on one side completely before flipping. Cook the kebabs for a total of 9-11 minutes or until golden and cooked through. You may have to cook them less if you make smaller kebabs. Flip them around the halfway mark. Serve warm with pita bread and sumac onions.