My first venture into Jerusalem: Turkey and Courgette Burgers with Sumac and Yoghurt Sauce

 

 

When I say 'Jerusalem', I mean the tremendously brilliant 'Ottolenghi' cookbook, rather than the city, but I have to say that watching the BBC Four series last year which depicted Yotam Ottolenghi's culinary tour of Jerusalem was fascinating. I'd love to go! Maybe one day... Anyway, until then I can cook my way through this glorious cookbook, full of exciting recipes to try.

 

It was natural that I was going to start here, at this recipe, because you see, the first Ottolenghi recipe I ever cooked was this one, which was a total revelation to me and everybody around me who has eaten it. I always thought that turkey mince was really a bit 'meh!', but pimping it up with some fresh herbs, vegetables and a generous amount of seasoning takes something uninspiring to something you can't get enough of.

 

Lola and Finn were a bit unsure of the yoghurt sauce and that's okay because as a kid I don't think that I would have been too keen. However, it is a lovely sauce, both zingy and cooling and a great match for the cumin infused 'burgers'. I served this with rice cooked in a little chicken stock and Lola and Finn approved.

 

So, here's the recipe:

 

Turkey and Courgette Burgers with Sumac and Yoghurt Sauce, adapted from 'Jerusalem' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

1 lb/500g ground turkey

1 large courgette, coarsely grated about 8oz/200g

3 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 large free-range egg

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

about 6 tablespoons sunflower oil, for searing

 

Sour cream & sumac sauce

 

Approx 80ml sour cream

Approx 160ml Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, crushed

11/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sumac

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Method:

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the burgers except the sunflower oil.

 

Mix with your hands and then shape into about 18 rounded burgers of about 1½ ounces each.

 

 

 

Pour enough sunflower oil into a large frying pan to form a layer about 1/16-inch thick.

 

Heat over medium heat until hot, then sear the burgers, in batches, on all sides. Cook each batch for about 4 minutes, adding oil as needed, until golden brown.

 

Carefully transfer the seared burgers to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until just cooked through.

 

 

 

Serve warm or at room temperature, with the sauce spooned over or on the side

Kiddie friendly! Kheema with peas

 

 

Well, friendly if your kids like peas. Lola does, Finn doesn't. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised by this information as he seems to have an aversion to anything 'green'. But, he persevered with this meal, skillfully eating around the peas and therefore giving this simple dish a thumbs up. And rightly so, for it is an easy and tasty dish and a good way of introducing your children to some restrained Indian spicing. And if you are one of those who prefers something a little more punchy, then you could always up the chilli...

 

It's funny; I have many cookery books, some of which were 'must haves' or so I thought when I bought/was given them but somehow you find yourself actually not cooking much from them, and then there are those cookbooks that you pick up on a whim, or that you unearth in a second hand bookshop (if you're me) or buy because it's a bargain and you're a bit compulsive about cookery books in general (this might be just me again)  but I am so glad that I happened upon Jill Dupleix's books in one of the haphazard ways I have just described. Initially a whimsical buy, but now I am a convert. Her meals are fresh, simple and delicious and it's telling that the books that she has written are some of the more well thumbed ones on my shelves. This is her recipe from her book, 'Lighten Up'.

 

Kheema with Peas taken from 'Lighten Up' by Jill Dupleix

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

750g lean minced lamb or beef (I used lamb)

2 tbsp tomato puree

250ml water or stock (I used lamb stock)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried red chilli flakes*

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

200g podded peas, fresh or frozen

1-2 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

* adjust the chilli according to family taste

 

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

 

 

Add the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes until light golden. Add the ginger and garlic, stirring well, than add meat and fry for 5 mins until browned.

 

 

Add the tomato puree, water (stock), coriander, chilli, turmeric, salt and pepper, stirring well. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins.

 

 

Uncover, add the peas and garam masala and simmer until the peas are cooked and the kheema is thick and saucy.

 

 

 

Scatter with coriander and serve.

 

D'you want fries with that? A random recipe for a tasty burger

 

 

I am not a big film fan to be honest; I'd rather do the ironing. But, some things stick in my mind and Jules' "Ummmmmm, this is a tasty burger..." exclamation from Pulp Fiction is one of those sticky kinda things which sprang to my mind when eating this particular burger, 'cos a tasty burger is certainly what it was. I don't often make my own, for as a family we don't really do the burger thing (and we should - Lola and Finn loved the little 'bespoke burgers' I made for them) but a homemade burger is something to savour and far, far superior than anything you are going to get from (insert any fast food chain name here) or indeed your nearest stable, if some supermarket 'ecomomy' brands are anything to go by.

 

 

 

Anyway, I wouldn't have been thinking about burgers in any shape or form if it hadn't been for the latest random recipe challenge hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen which was to randomly select a recipe from those cuttings and notes, etc. that you take from magazines, or the back of packets or pick up on the way out of the supermarket and file in a Rennie Mackintosh styled biscuit tin, if you're me.

 

 

 

Now, I have two books of cuttings and what not, plus the aforementioned biscuit tin, and as my books are A4 and contain numerous recipes on each page (one summer several years ago I spent a week folding cuttings and sticking them on to the pages of these spiral bound books which such attention to folding that an origami master would be proud of the end result) and so I decided that the biscuit tin was the place to get a single recipe that was truly random.

 

 

 

And, I closed my eyes and picked out this one - a recipe card from 'Booths' (a north west supermarket in case you aren't familiar with their brilliance) for homemade burgers. Fabulous. I even had all the ingredients. So, I set to work, and what you have below is the result of my endeavours:

 

Homemade Burgers with Bacon and Cheese, adapted from the Booths Supermarket Recipe

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

My adaptations in red

 

Ingredients

 

454g lean mince

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2tbsp olive oil

1tbsp parsley, chopped

1 egg, beaten

25g ready made breadcrumbs (I had panko breadcrumbs left from another recipe. I used them).

¼tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp thyme, chopped

4 rashers of streaky bacon (I used back bacon)

1 beef tomato, sliced (Didn't use - replaced it with a dollop of tomato and chilli chutney or tomato ketchup for Lola and Finn)

50g cheese (I used cheese slices for Lola and Finn. I treated myself to a bit of Gruyere)

3 or 4 burger buns

Our additions: some thinly sliced onion and for me, a bit of watercress.

 

Instructions:

 

 

 

In a frying pan, gently cook the onion in the olive oil until soft but not coloured, add the garlic and transfer to a mixing bowl and leave to cool.

 

 

 

Once cooled, add the mince, parsley, thyme, cayenne pepper, breadcrumbs, the beaten egg and season generously with salt and milled pepper and really mix all the ingredients well.

 

Then, divide the mixture into three balls or four smaller balls if you want smaller burgers, ( I did. I made little burgers for Lola and Finn and made little buns to put them on. Cute!) then pat to form a burger shape and refrigerate for 30 minutes to help hold the shape when cooking.

 

 

 

Cook the burger on your BBQ or grill for about 10 minutes turning every so often. (I just put mine in the frying pan. I was going to get the griddle pan out but, I'll be honest, I couldn't be bothered with it).

 

Place the bacon on the BBQ or grill and cook until crisp and place onto the burger.

Finally, divide your choice of cheese between the burgers and serve on toasted burger buns, once the cheese has melted slightly, with sliced tomato (or relish) and fresh salad

 

 

 

Add chips! Or fries! And enjoy!

 

More Delia dealings: Pork braised in Sherry with Tomatoes

 

 

I don't normally blog a recipe from the same source twice but, you know, I make the rules here and I'll break them, plus this is too good a meal not to blog about right now, quite frankly, for it is a thing of beauty - a vibrant, Spanish inspired one pot meal which hints at the idea of Summer evenings sat outside on the terrace with a glass full of Rioja, but is substantial enough for a drizzly, chilly early March evening, couped up inside, watching the opaque light fade to black, with a glass full of Rioja...

 

 

 

March is Delia month at Cook Like A Star, hosted by Zoe at Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. which reminds me, I can't believe I haven't posted this earlier...

 

Let's be havin' you indeed. Too much cooking sherry.

 

 

 

and it is also Tomatoes time at Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen at my little favourite DIY and Zoe, at Bake for Happy Kids, and I am submitting this recipe here too, as the recipe covers both bases. Helpful.

 

This is a very easy dish to make, a genuine one pot wonder which once assembled, looks after itself for a couple of hours or so whilst the robust flavours meld. I served this with some garlic bread. Delia suggests potatoes. Delia knows.

 

A word, or several, about olives. I love them, Phill loves them, Lola and Finn hate them. I put them in as instructed in the recipe below and then carefully served Lola and Finn a helping without olives, however, they did taint the sauce a little. The kids persevered, bless them, (the dunking of garlic bread helped enormously!) but if olives aren't your thing, leave them out.

 

Anyway, recipe time:

 

Pork Braised in Sherry with Tomatoes and Chorizo, adapted from Delia's website

 

My adaptations in red

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad (I mostly halved the quantities listed in the original recipe).

 

Ingredients:

 

1lb piece trimmed shoulder of pork

4 oz chorizo sausage (I used raw chorizo)

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, thickly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 rounded tablespoon plain flour

A half tin of chopped tomatoes

5 floz dry sherry (I used fino)

1 1/2tbsp tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 red peppers, de-seeded and cut into thick chunks (I used a Romano (pointy) pepper)

a handful mixed green and black olives, pitted (Just used black ones)

salt and freshly milled black pepper Method:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275F, 140C. Start off by chopping the trimmed pork into largish cubes if you need to (mine was ready cubed) then remove the skin from the chorizo and slice it into thinnish rounds. Next heat one tablespoon of the oil in the casserole over a high heat and when it’s really hot add a few of the cubes of meat to brown well on all sides. Remove them to a plate then continue to brown the rest of the meat in small batches, adding a little more oil if required. Once the meat has been browned, add the chorizo to the pan and cook until it begins to render its red oil, then add the onions and cook for about five minutes until the onions have taken on a golden hue and are starting to brown.   Next, return the meat to the casserole and stir in the flour to soak up the juices, then add the chorizo followed by the tomatoes, sherry and sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle in the thyme and bay leaves then give everything a good stir. Lastly bring the casserole up to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and transfer it to the centre of the oven to cook for 1½ hours.   When the time is up, add the sliced peppers and the olives (left whole), give it all one good stir, cover again then leave it to carry on cooking for another ½ hour or until the peppers are tender. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and some garlic bread, or potatoes, or rice maybe... As mentioned above, I am submitting this recipe to the 'Cook Like a Star' March blog hop. Please visit the other sites below for some of my friends' amazing Delia recipes. In addition, I am submitting this blog post to 'Little Thumbs Up' the featured ingredient this month being tomatoes.

 

 

Cooking Like a Star, Delia Stylee - Orange and Greek Honey Syrup Cake

 

 

I think it is safe to say that you know where you are with Delia. There is some unwritten gastronomic rule somewhere that says that every Delia recipe will deliver. Your dinner party will be amazing. Everyone will swoon over your pudding. Your bolied egg will be perfect, for Delia showed you how to boil that egg. And whilst a lot of what I have just written is just a little tongue in cheek, it’s very rare a Delia recipe fails you. It’s food that makes you happy.

And that brings me rather neatly to cake, and I will speak for the group here; cake makes you happy. In that way they’re a bit like flowers, or balloons. They make you smile, and even if you decline a slice, (What is wrong with you?) they’re nice to look at. Pretty little things.

 

 

So, when I realised that March is the not only the month of white rabbits, but the month of Delia Smith on ‘Cook like a star’ hosted by Zoe at Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo at Eat your Heart Out and Mich at Piece of Cake I had to start with cake and as it’s a month nearer to what should be the start of some warmer weather (one of these years, I will be right…) I chose something Greek, and who knows, if I wish really hard and my punt on the Euromillions this evening comes off, then tomorrow I might be eating something similar sat outside some taverna somewhere *crosses fingers*.

Cakes with a soaking syrup usually don’t dry out so you can choose to eat this over a few days if you like. It’s a very moreish, tasty, zingy cake though quite crumbly despite the syrup soaking. Probably the semolina/cornmeal content. It does need the yoghurt topping because of this in my opinion. If I made this again, I would go for something richer like ever so slightly sweetened mascarpone spread over the top. That would be tremendous!

Greek Orange and Honey Syrup Cake, adapted from Delia Smith’s ‘How to Cook, Book Three’.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 small oranges (weighing about 9 oz/250 g)

4½ oz (125 g) ground almonds

6 oz (175 g) well-softened butter, plus a little extra for greasing

6 oz (175 g) golden caster sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

9 oz (250 g) semolina (I used fine cornmeal)

4½ level teaspoons baking powder

For the syrup:

8 fl oz (225 ml) Greek mountain honey

5 tablespoons orange juice

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

1½ inch (4 cm) cinnamon stick (I used a tsp of ground cinnamon)

For the topping:

7 oz (200 g) Greek yoghurt

1½ oz (40 g) unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts

2 tablespoons Greek mountain honey

 

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C)

 

 

First, cut the oranges into chunks, removing the pips. Then tip the whole lot – flesh, pith and zest – into a food processor and whiz it to a thick purée.

Next, put all the other cake ingredients into a large bowl and, provided the butter is really soft, just go in with an electric hand whisk and whisk everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined mixture.

When combined, fold in the orange purée, spoon the mixture into a prepared 10 inch springform tin and smooth the top with the back of the spoon.

Now place the cake on the centre shelf of the oven and bake it for an initial 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C) and bake for a further 40-45 minutes, or until it is golden brown, springy in the centre and has shrunk slightly from the sides of the tin.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. To do this, simply combine the honey and 5 tablespoons water with the cinnamon stick in a small saucepan, place it over a gentle heat, bring it up to simmering point and let it simmer gently for about 5 minutes. After that, take the pan off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the orange and lemon juices. (I just threw it all in together and heated the mixture!!)

 

Leave the cake aside to cool for 5 minutes, then remove it from the tin to a wire rack to cool, with a large plate underneath. Make a few holes all over it with a skewer before pouring the syrup over it. (It will look like there is far too much, but don’t worry, the cake will absorb more than you think, and any that is not absorbed can be poured from the plate back over the cake.) Then, when the cake is absolutely cold, place it on a serving plate, cover it and leave it in a cool place overnight, though I served it a few hours later.

 

 

Just before serving, spread the top of the cake with the Greek yoghurt, sprinkle over the pistachios, drizzle with the honey and serve cut into chunky slices.

This is a big cake. Serves 8 – 10 comfortably.

 

I am submitting this recipe to March 2013's 'Cook Like A Star' blog hop hosted by Zoe at Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo at Eat your Heart Out and Mich at Piece of Cake. See other amazing Delia recipes below!