Skip to main content

Turkey and tabbouleh ... a pretty damn fine combination





Last night I came home to a fantastic healthy dinner from Yotam Ottolenghi .... well Lisa and Martha actually ....  but inspired by his book Jerusalem. 
As I may have mentioned before we are a bit obsessed with Tabbouleh, and making it properly. The key is in the proportions, particularly the amount of parsley.
Both dishes feature separately elsewhere on this blog but I really liked them together , hence the post.
This is a really healthy and delicious combination.

btw If you cant be bothered to make the sauce then just drizzle the burgers with plain yoghurt and sprinkle over a bit of sumac.

Turkey and courgette burgers

Makes 4 servings (about 12 burgers)

Ingredients

For turkey burger

500g minced turkey (I think chicken would be good too)
1 large courgette, coarsely grated
1 spring onion, thinly sliced (I had to use a red onion but it worked ok)
1 medium free range egg
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped coriander
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sunflower oil

For sour cream & sumac sauce

100g light sour cream
150g low fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sumac
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.  For the sauce, mix sour cream with the Greek yogurt.  Add the lemon zest, juice, garlic, oil and sumac.  Mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.It will chill happily in the fridge
2.  Preheat oven to 220C
3.  In a large bowl, mix all of the turkey meatball ingredients (excluding the sunflower oil). Form small burgers (about 12 of them. I used a pastry ring to get reasonably similar sizes).
4. Add sunflower oil to a non stick frying pan. Put on medium high heat.  Sear patties on both sides until golden brown, roughly 4 minutes.
5.  Transfer the burger patties onto a lined baking tray.  Leave to cook further in oven for 7 minutes.
6.  When ready to serve, place burgers on a serving platter with sauce on side or on top.


Tabbouleh

Ingredients

1/3 cup fine bulgur wheat
2 large tomatoes, ripe but firm
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus a little extra to finish
4 large bunches flat-leaf parsley
2 bunches mint
2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon baharat spice mix
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

If you cannot find fine bulgur wheat or if you do not know what grade bulgur wheat you have, then soak the wheat in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the bulgur, and then leave it to dry in a fine sieve.

Method

1. Put the bulgur in a fine sieve and run under cold water until the water rinsing through looks clear. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.


2. Using a small serrated knife, cut the tomatoes into slices 1/4 inch thick. Cut each slice in 1/4 inch strips, and then into dices. Add the tomatoes and their juices to the bowl, along with the shallot and lemon juice. Stir well.


3.Take a few sprigs of parsley and pack them together tightly. Use a large, very sharp knife to trim off most of the stems and discard. Use the knife to move up the stems and leaves, gradually "feeding" the knife in order to shred the parsley as finely as you can.  Add to the bowl.


4. Pick the mint leaves off the stems, pack a few together tightly, and shred them finely as you did the parsley. Add to the bowl.


5. Finally, add the allspice, baharat, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if you like. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak