O how I love Middle Eastern food. These were a huge huge (did I say huge?) hit with the entire family. Next time I am making a double batch so I can freeze them. I look at the pictures and I want some now!!
I served these with rice and sauteed fresh tomatoes, but next time I am going to make flat bread sandwiches with them. They were so fragrant and so tasty. My girls gobbled these up.
The recipe is from CityMama reader Karen. And here it is copied from her email to me:
KOTLET-E-GUSHT
from Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij
(if you are interested at all in Persian cooking, this is a great cookbook)
- 1 large potato
- 1 lb ground beef, lamb or veal (CityMama Note: I used one pound of organic beef)
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
boil potato, peel & mash well. set aside.
in a bowl combine all ingredients, knead for 10 minutes to form a smooth paste.
Not sure if I got the shape right. Did I?
using damp hands, shape mixture into lumps the size of an egg, then flatten into oblong shaped patties. brown on both sides in a skillet with 1/4 cup hot oil over medium heat, adding more oil if needed.
I chose to use the breadcrumbs. Glad I did.
she rolls her patties in bread crumbs before frying, I don't care much for that so I skip that step. she also serves these with a saute of fresh tomatoes over the top with basmati. we prefer to eat these as make your own sandwiches with flat bread (lavosh, pita, tortillas), sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sweet onion and pickles. my husband likes his with mayo, the girls and I eat them with plain yogurt. these pack, travel and freeze very well - I usually make a double batch and stash some away in the freezer.
