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.
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.
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.
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