Turkey Zucchini Burgers with Sour Cream Sumac Sauce

Another Jerusalem fave. I've made these tasty little sliders several times now and I just can't get enough-they are so flavorful and the sumac sauce just puts it over the top. I double the recipe so I can revel in the leftovers. The first time I made these & packed the leftovers for my office lunch, the aroma wafting from the microwave followed by the visual at my desk had my office mates & bakery peeps mesmerized and fairly disgusted with their $10 deli sandwiches. I made these with the Basmati & Wild Rice in the previous post. This morning I chopped up 3 burgers and tossed the colorful little bites in amongst the rice, nuked it for a minute and topped it off with a poached egg. Needless to say, bliss in a bowl.
The great thing about these burgers and the rice dish is that the flavors are at their best at room temperature or slightly warmed so you can make this ahead of time if you decide (and rightly so) you're gonna make this for guests.

Turkey & zucchini burgers with green onion & cumin
from Jerusalem the Cookbook

1 pound ground turkey

1 large zucchini coarsely grated -about 2 cups

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 large free-range egg

2 tablespoon chopped mint

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

About 6 ½ tbsp of sunflower oil, for searing

sour cream & sumac sauce

scant 1/2 cup sour cream scant ⅔ cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 ½ tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sumac

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Make the sour cream sauce by placing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside or chill until needed.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs except the sunflower oil. Mix with your hands and then shape into about 18 burgers, each weighing about 1 ½ oz.

Pour enough sunflower oil into a large frying pan to form a layer about inch thick on the pan bottom. Heat over medium heat until hot, then sear the meatballs in batches on all sides. Cook each batch for about 4 minutes, adding oil as needed, until golden brown.

Carefully transfer the seared meatballs to a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper and place them in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature, with the sauce spooned over or on the side.

Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Herbs & Fried Onions

The latest from Jerusalem, the best cookbook I've never owned.

I have problems cooking rice. Seems so simple “follow package directions”. Never fails, it’s usually undercooked and burning to the bottom of the pan before it’s done…just a whisper of a flame and I still end up with scorched rice.
Add more water and I end up with clumpy moist rice. Not good either. Then I came across Jamie Oliver’s method of boiling, draining & steaming rice, now this is how I cook all my grains. This requires a little more attention & the use of a couple of tools but it results in more control and a grain that ideally suits it's final purpose.


The Jamie Oliver Method of cooking white rice:


Get a large pot of salted water boiling.
Add 1 1/2 cups of well-rinsed rice (in a mesh strainer-run it under cold water for about a minute-until the water runs clear)_
when the rice starts dancing around, boil for 5 minutes** from that point on.
Strain the rice in a colander and cover with aluminum foil, pressing it down onto the surface of the rice. Add an inch of water back into your original pot and bring that back to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and place your colander of foil-covered rice back into the pot and place the pot cover back on as well.
Let it simmer and steam for 10** minutes.


**These times will vary depending on the grain-white rice being the quickest cook and farro taking the longest. At the first point, you're looking for the grain to be chewy but still slightly underdone. The grain is finished when you think it's finished-the simmer & steam time can take up to 30 minutes depending on the grain. Taste it every 10 minutes & check that the water hasn't boiled away.


This dish has two different types of rice which require preparation separately. You can choose to go with one type if you want but what works here is the two different textures that are going on. Basmati is lighter & fluffier while the wild rice is firmer.

As I sit here and eat this I’m struck by two things: It’s beautiful to look at, I hope my pictures do it justice. The rice is yellowed from the curry and flecked with loads of fresh bright green herbs and the deep red from the dried cranberries and finally the crispy brown of the fried onions. Ottolenghi loves his fried onions for good reason. They add a level of crispiness and savory complexity. I added a bunch of chives I’d just trimmed the flower off. They were teetering on the edge of the compost bin.

Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Herbs & Fried Onions

adapted from Jerusalem the Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

⅓ cup wild rice

2 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 ¼ cups basmati rice
boiling water
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1½ teaspoons curry powder
1 ½ cups cooked and drained chickpeas (canned are good)
¾ cup sunflower oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ teaspoon all-purpose flour
⅔ cup currants

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoons chopped dill
I added about 2 tablespoons fresh chives-just what I had on hand and not be wasteful=)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Rinse the wild rice in a mesh strainer and place in small sauce pan. Fill with water and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the rice is chewy then transfer to a mesh strainer or small colander and steam it (as directed above) to it's finish.

To cook the basmati rice, pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a medium saucepan with a tightly fitting lid and place over high heat. Add the rice and ¼ teaspoon salt and stir as you warm up the rice. Carefully add the boiling water filling the saucepan about 3/4 full, once the rice is boiling and dancing around, continue to boil for 5 minutes, then transfer into a colander and simmer & steam to it's finish. Turn off the heat, remove the foil and place a clean tea towel over the pot and place the lid back on. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the chickpeas. Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the cumin seeds and curry powder. Wait for a couple of seconds, and then add the chickpeas and ¼ teaspoon salt; make sure you do this quickly or the spices may burn in the oil. Stir over the heat for a minute or two, just heat the chickpeas then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Wipe the saucepan clean, pour in the sunflower oil, and place over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Use your hands to mix the onion with the flour to coat it slightly. Take some of the onion and carefully (it may split) place it in the oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, then transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt. Repeat in batches until all the onion is fried.
Finally, add both types of rice to the chickpeas and then add the currants, herbs, and fried onion. Stir, taste and add salt and pepper as you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This makes a lot of rice. Perfect for leftovers and cookin’ up for a morning fried rice.

This is really, really good.

savory layer cake

The sign of a successful new recipe, or more likely just my kitchen OCD, is when I'm already planning my next shopping list so I can immediately make it all over again-knowing full well that it will take me 2 or 3 days to finish the dish that's sitting right in front of me. I mean, you can never have too much of a good thing...can you? I tell myself "At least wait until day 3 and see how it holds up to the reheat".

I can attest to the fact that this just gets better. I heated a fat slice of it last night after getting home from a crazybusy day and working the closing shift at the market. I was famished by the time I pedaled my bike home and up that last hill that seemed to go on forever...grateful to have this ready to go and thankful to my wine buddy at the market for the remains of a bottle of Pinot Noir. I cracked open a new mystery I picked up from the library earlier in the afternoon and my evening was complete.

This savory layer cake comes from Jerusalem, one of my favorite cookery books.

The chef's behind this collection of recipes are Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, owners of the wildly successful Ottolenghi restaurants in London. They call this an Open Kibbeh, a non-traditional take on a classic Lebanese Kibbeh. There are versions of Kibbeh throughout the Middle Eastern culture, but basically a kibbeh is a meat filled croquet or deep-fried dumpling that includes bulgur wheat (cracked wheat), spicy ground meat with fresh herbs, pine nuts and tahini sauce for dipping.

In this version, each of the components are layered into a spring-form pan and baked, then left to cool to room temperature-at which point it's released from the pan, holding into wedges better and the flavors are at their peak.

This is really super simple to make. I'm fortunate to work in the place that I do with access to the best food in the city. I also have this great Armenian market out in my hood. It is a constant source of wonder when I peruse its aisles while I attempt to build my Ottolenghi pantry. My shopping list consisted of ground lamb (ground beef works too), bulgur wheat  & pine nuts. I've never used bulgur wheat so I neglected to write down specifically "fine" bulgur wheat. I was slightly overwhelmed by the vast array of bulgur wheat on the shelf- 2 brands each with 4 grades from fine to coarse ground. I guessed and chose medium-fine. It worked fine though, the fully hydrated grain was slightly bigger than couscous and a tad grainier in texture.
At the butcher counter, the ground lamb they offered was called "lamb lulu". The raw lamb was seasoned with herbs and spices (I can't remember what they were but it sounded good) and spread squarely and evenly onto a long, narrow white platter, indented with an angular cross-hatched pattern and covered tightly with plastic wrap. It looked so beautiful.

Open Kibbeh
Yotam Ottolenghi’s & Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem: A Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:
scant 1 cup (125g) fine bulgur wheat
scant 1 cup (200ml) water
6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
1 medium jalepeno, very finely chopped
12 ounces (350g) ground lamb
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoon roughly chopped coriander
1/2 cup (60g) pine nuts
3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
2 tablespoons self-rising flour (or 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder + pinch of salt)
Salt and black pepper
3 1/2 tablespoons (50g) tahini paste
3 1/2 tablespoons (50ml) water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sumac

METHOD:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush an 8 inch springform pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper. Put the bulgur wheat into a bowl, add water to cover the bulgur, and set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat four tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Sauté the garlic, onion and jalepeno on medium-high heat until soft, remove from the pan, return it to high heat and add the lamb. Cook for five minutes, stirring, until brown. Return the onion mix to the pan, along with the spices, coriander leaves, salt, pepper and most of the pine nuts and parsley (saving a bit for the finish). Cook for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning.
Check the bulgur to see if all the water has been absorbed (strain if not). Add the flour, a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper and, with your hands, work into a pliable mixture that just holds together. Press firmly into the base of the springform pan  so that it is compact and level, I use the flat bottom of a pint glass. Spread the lamb mix evenly on top and press down. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meat browns further and is very hot.
Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, water and a pinch of salt for a very thick, yet pourable sauce. Remove the kibbeh from the oven, spread the sauce on top, sprinkle with pine nuts and parsley, and return to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the tahini is just set and the pine nuts are golden. Remove and leave to cool down to room temperature.
Before serving, sprinkle with the sumac and a drizzle of olive oil. Remove the ring of the pan and carefully cut the kibbeh into slices.
This is great for leftovers too. I just microwave for one minute to take off the chill.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

I saw a gorgeous photograph of this thing called Shakshuka when I finally got my mitts on Jerusalem last year. That was my inspiration to commit to my library cookery books by limiting my bookmarking by editing down to 10 recipes AND copying each recipe long-hand.  Then, as usual, I got side-tracked.

Some roundabout trip through the blogosphere landed me on Smitten Kitchens Shakshuka post and my OCD kicked in and I had to make Shakshuka. Now!  For my 4th of July birthday brunch. Nevermind that I had Ottolenghi's perfectly perfect recipe in my TO DO binder and Smitten Kitchen's also perfecty good recipe saved on my phone, true to form, I spent an entire morning googling a gazillion ways to make Shakshuka. I landed on David Lebovitz's adaption . It involved the least amount of shopping and it was adapted from both my original inspiration, Jerusalem, and Secrets of the Best Chefs (Amateur Gourmets Adam Roberts brilliant book).

The only shopping I needed to do was for the greens (I decided on spinach), chili peppers and caraway seeds. I work in a specialty market and I'm surrounded by foodies of all calibers. As I talked up my birthday/4th of July plans, I don't know what surprised me more: those who loved Shakshuka and those who'd never heard of it. 

Shakshuka is believed to be of Tunisian origin, a dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. It's the North African version of Huevos Rancheros or what the Italians call Eggs in Purgatory. It's super simple, budget friendly and healthy to boot. It can be adapted and personalized in endless ways and best of all, the sauce can be made up in large batches and frozen in 2-cup freezer bags to make meals in minutes and its amazing for any meal of the day. Served with a salad and a big crusty hunk of bread, it's dinner...or spooned over a bowl of polenta...oh dear!
This is Smitten Kitchen's adaption which I kept bouncing back to. It's slightly simpler in that it doesn't include the toasting and grinding of whole spices.

 

Ottolenghi's Turkey Zucchini burgers

Ottolenghi's Turkey Zucchini burgers, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

OCD'ing on OTZ burgers~Oh. So. Good.

I've been sitting on this recipe for awhile now. It's from Ottolengi's Jerusalem and I knew it would be great in spite of my reservations with ground turkey. So, when I realized I had to kick up the healthy cooking a notch (again), I figured now was as good of a time as any to give ground turkey another chance (again).

I've never been a fan of ground turkey, except for the time I made an Ellie Krieger recipe for Big Fat Greek Turkey Burgers. I'd always found the gamey smell, insipid flavor and mushy texture a huge turn-off. What I know now is that there are endless ways to flavor it up and give it great texture. It's a blank canvas.

These amazingly flavorful meatballs or slider sized burgers are packed full of zucchini, fresh herbs, scallions and spices. The sour cream and yogurt sauce is enhanced with sumac, a middle eastern spice that comes from dried sumac berries. Sumac is a deep red powder with a tart lemony flavor. It creates a pink creamy sauce that is so gorgeous and fresh tasting. I made these twice last week. The first batch disappeared before I could get a picture off. The second batch was about to go the same way so I dashed this pic off in the murky light of the night time kitchen. I have to keep reminding myself that it's ok that I'm not smitten kitchen or 101 cookbooks with my low rent cell phone cam and generic blogger template, hence the link to the recipe above. I aspire to its inspiration.

brown rice with toasted chickpeas and fried onions

brown rice with toasted chickpeas and fried onions, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

I get a lot of satisfaction from multi-tasking, especially if it doesn't feel like it. Like riding my bike to work. I get my daily work out whilst I commute. There's only one other thing that makes me feel even more accomplished and smug: cooking in my sleep. I ALWAYS cook beans overnight in the slow cooker. It always used to be black beans I'd cook with the most frequency but I've been on a chickpea bender of late. They are just sooooo freakin' good. I cook them in chicken bouillon seasoned water with either a big sprig of thyme or rosemary. In the wee hours of the morning, I'm momentarily disoriented by the amazing aromas wafting through the room, wondering which evil neighbor tortures me with their enticing feats of cookery. I love that!

This  is a riff on a recipe I found in Jerusalem, the new and brilliant cookbook from London Chefs/Restauranteurs Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

I usually cook off a big pot of rice on Sunday to have on hand through out the week so I can make fried rice--my favorite and off-the-hook delish, refrigerator rescue.

This is where that jar of caramelized onions comes in handy-- you know, that one you made yesterday.

Toasted breadcrumbs are another great make-ahead.

Ottolenghi uses a combination of basmati and wild rice (much more attractive and I'm thinkin' much more flavorful in the finished dish) but I didn't have any on hand. He also finishes with fresh dill and oregano-didn't have any of that either, so I used dry. I truly believe that my sub-par substitions were off-set by the brilliance of the caramelized onions-the link below will take you to my method of preparation. You're going to want to make these onions ahead of time, in fact everything here can be made ahead and then tossed together and warmed in the oven or tossed in a skillet to heat everything through.

Brown Rice with Toasted Chickpeas and Fried Onions
adapted from Jerusalem

2 cups of cooked rice

Caramelized Onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Toasted Chickpeas
2 cups of cooked or canned chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon za'atar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
a few grinds of pepper

Toasted bread crumbs
4-5 slices of day old bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper-about 4 turns of the grinder
2 teaspoons za'atar

Fried Onions
1 medium onion sliced thinly
2 teaspoons flour
2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 cups cooked rice

1 tablespoons chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Tear up the bread and pulse in the food processor 4-5 times until the largest crumbs are about the size of a large crouton. Transfer to a medium sized bowl and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat, sprinkle the salt all over, grind the pepper all over and sprinkle the za'atar all over and toss. spread the crumbs onto a large baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, toss and redistribute the crumbs on the baking sheet and bake for another 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the crumbs cool on the sheet pan. Transfer the crumbs into a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked chickpeas with olive oil, salt, za'atar, cumin, paprika and pepper then spread them out on a large sheet pan, being careful not to crowd them or else they'll steam and not crisp well. Bake for 10 minutes, shake the baking sheet to move the chickpeas around a bit and bake for 10 more minutes, until they're slightly crispy. Remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, toss in your sliced onions and sprinkle flour over top and toss lightly. Heat up the oil in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Drop a piece of the onion in. It should sizzle and bubble vigorously. Working in batches cook the onion until it browns, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.

In a large bowl, add the warm rice, chickpeas, caramelized onions and fried onions. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of za'atar over the surface and mix in. The za'atar can also be added after the rice is served.

Top with toasted breadcrumbs.

Hummus

Hummus, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

All I can say is "Wow!"

This "ethereally smooth hummus"came my way via Smitten Kitchen who got it from Ottolenghi's new cookbook Jerusalem, which I just happen to have in my possession for the next couple of weeks thanks to my local library. Double Wow! This hummus is so amazingly smooth and flavorful and could not be more simple. Well, I lie. It could be more simple. Smittens key to it's ethereal smoothness is to peel the cooked chickpeas. Crazy? perhaps. Obsessive? no doubt, but it's seriously worth the added effort and it's a fine task to occupy my hands whilst watching Downton Abbey. I pack it in my lunch and make my co-workers dizzy with envy. Sometimes I share. They like that.

My only adaption is how I prepare the dry beans. I cooked the beans the way I always cook dry beans: in a low, slow-cooker overnight in 4 times their volume of water seasoned with vegetarian fake chicken seasoning and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. I pick over and rinse the dried beans but I don't soak them. I've never had a problem with that.

I had a massive stack of whole grain tortillas, flecked with all sorts of healthy bits, in the freezer from the time I tagged along with Sheena to Costco months back. Those tortillas-as it turned out-didn't really gel with my breakfast burrito plan. They were like cardboard, but with all due kitchen diligence, they turned out the perfect cracker. I brushed them with a little olive oil and sprinkled on some salt and za'atar (a middle eastern herb blend of marjoram, oregano, thyme, sesame seeds, salt and sometimes dried sumac), and baked them on a baking sheet for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

This goes in the keeper file.