Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

This week I went Greek, kinda sorta. Well, the cheese you see on there is mozzarella and that’s arugula peeking out on top, but that’s what was in my fridge so there.

Burgers:

1 lb. ground lamb

1 Tbsp capers, minced

Fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and make 4 patties. I like to make some divots in the middle of the patties so they cook a little more evenly. Preheat a skillet to medium-high, then cook for 2-3 minutes/side. Top with mozzarella during the final minute or two.

Tzatziki:

12 oz. (by weight) Greek Yogurt

½ cucumber (~4 inches long), diced

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dill, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients, taste and adjust, and allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Makes way more than you’ll need for the burgers, but that’s alright.

Assembly:

Toast the buns, stack the burger, red onion slices, tomato, tzatziki, and arugula

Roasted Golden Beets with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and Creamed Corn

In a rare twist, I actually cooked a meal that didn’t involve meat in some way shape or form. I’m still not a huge fan of beets, but I’m trying. The creamed corn recipe is from Ad Hoc at Home. The pesto was leftover, which is why it looks a little worse for the wear in the photo.

Pickled cherry tomatoes:

~12 oz. cherry tomatoes

¾ cup water

¾ cup cider vinegar

4 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

Lime peel from ½ a lime

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 tsp crushed red pepper

Method: bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and cool for 20 minutes. Place remaining ingredients in a container and poor cooled vinegar mixture over contents. Refrigerate.

Roasted Beets : Peel beets, cut into ¼” thick rounds, season with salt/pepper/olive oil and bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes

Creamed Corn:

Kernels from 2 ears of corn

2 Tablespoons butter

Salt

Juice of ½ lime

1/3 cup heavy cream

Lime zest

Chives

Method: In a pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the corn, season with salt and lime juice (I used ½ a lime). Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes, until the liquid is evaporated and the corn begins to sizzle. Add the cream and lime zest and cook for 6-8 minutes more, until the corn absorbs a good bit of the cream. Remove from heat and add the chives.

Sun Dried Tomato and Walnut Pesto:

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil

¾ cup basil

1 clove garlic

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup walnuts

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method: add the garlic and walnuts in a food processor and give them a whir. Add the tomatoes, basil, and parmesan and turn the machine on. While it’s running, pour in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Salmon with Orange Buerre Blanc, and Glazed Vegetables (with a bonus lime and mint sorbet)

First, some thoughts on how this turned out

• The orange beurre blanc was amazing. I guess a stick of butter will make anything better
• I’ll definitely try the glazed vegetables again (carrots were a little overcooked this time), but I wouldn’t do it again when there’s already a hearty butter sauce on the plate
• I thought this would look fancier. One of these days I’ll figure out how to plate food properly.
• The lime mint sorbet started to melt with the quickness. Though it was like 85 in my apartment.
• Speaking of the sorbet, it needed something else. Just the lime and mint made it taste like lime-ade (with a hint of mint). Maybe some watermelon would work.
• Fava beans are more of a pain than they’re worth

Recipe:

Orange Beurre Blanc (from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/orange_beurre_blanc_sauce_for_seafood/)

Juice of 1 orange (about 3/8 cup)

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon minced shallots

¼ cup white wine (I actually used Vermouth)

1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter

Salt

Pepper

Add the orange juice, zest, shallots, and wine in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, cook over medium high and reduce until the sauce is nearly a glaze (took me ~10 minutes). Add in the butter in 4 additions, whisking continuously as you do so to emulsify the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Glazed Vegetables

3 carrots, halved, then quartered

Fava Beans (like 8 stalks I think?)

½ - ¾ cup chicken stock

2 Tablespoons butter, divided

Lime juice

Lime zest

Salt

For the fava beans: remove the beans from the stalks. Parcook the beans (I was lazy and microwaved them) until the outer layer shrivels. Remove the inner, edible part.

Place the carrots in a medium sauté pan, and cover halfway with chicken stock. Add 1 Tbsp butter. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook on medium-low, until carrots start to get tender. Add the fava beans, the remaining 1 tbsp of butter, and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir until the liquid reduced to practically nothing, tossing the vegetables to cover them in glaze. Squeeze in a bit of lime juice, and add some lime zest.

Salmon:

Score the filet along the skin (so it doesn’t curl up in the pan), and season with salt on both sides. Heat a skillet over high heat. Pour a little vegetable oil on the fish, coating both sides. Place the fish in the pan, skin down. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for ~3 minutes. Flip and cook for another minute. Times will vary based on how thick the fish is, the filet I used wasn’t very thick.

Lime and Mint Sorbet:

4 Limes, halved and skin removed

Leaves from 1 sprig of mint, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp sugar

4 cups ice

Add the ingredients to your Vitamix in the order listed. Turn the blender on, and increase the speed from 1 to 10. Blend for 45 seconds, tampering down with the big black tampering thingamajiggy that they give you. The sorbet is done when the blade makes a whirring sound. Serve with lime zest.

Soy, Citrus, and Sriracha Marinated Chicken

This week’s 52 Weeks of Cooking theme is BBQ/Grilling, which is like a cruel joke to me since I live in an apartment and don’t own a grill. If I did own a grill, I would have cooked this chicken on there, but we’ll just have to pretend instead.

Recipe:

¼ Cup Soy Sauce

3 Tablespoons Orange Juice

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

2 Tablespoons Sriracha

1 Tablespoon hoisin

1 Tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3 sprigs cilantro

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ginger, minced

2 chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks)

Put everything except the chicken together in a bag/dish. Taste and adjust. Add the chicken, marinade for 4-6 hours. Preheat your oven to 425°F, and bake the chicken for 40-45 minutes, until juices run clear. Better yet, grill it. Meanwhile, reserve the marinade in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and reduce by about half. Turn off heat. Brush marinade on chicken two or three times during the cooking process to get a bit of a glaze going. Toss the chicken under a broiler for a hot minute (both literally and figuratively) if you want some additional color on it.

Pizza Bianco with Pork Roll and Eggs

This recipe is a take on a recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s Twenty. If you’re unfamiliar with pork roll, then you’re missing out on the single greatest non-Springsteen thing to come out of New Jersey. I find it hard to describe pork roll, because much like a hot dog, I have no idea what’s in it. It’s sort of sausage like in a way, but at the same time nothing like that at all. Pork goodness is all I have to say. I’ve never had tallegio prior to making this pizza, but boy does it smell funky. It melts well though, so it worked out in the end.

Dough (for one 12” pie):

250 Grams Flour

150 Grams warm (110°F) water

1 gram instant yeast

5 grams kosher salt

½ tablespoon sugar

Toppings:

Pork roll (I ended up using in ~3/4 diced)

3 eggs

Tallegio cheese, grated

Extra virgin olive oil

Basil

Arugla

Add the yeast, sugar, and about half the water in a container and allow the yeast to work its magic for 5-10 minutes. Add to a mixer bowl along with flour, salt, and water. Mix in an stand mixer on medium low for about 10 minutes, until the dough can pass the windowpane test. Transfer to a bowl that’s been sprayed with cooking spray, cover, and allow to rise for 2-3 hours, until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Punch down dough, and on a well floured surface roll out with a rolling pin, rotating as you go to maintain a circular shape. You’ll want a disc with a circumference a little larger than the skillet you’ll be working with. Place the dough in the skillet (no need to oil the skillet), and fold the sides down to create the crust. You may need to trim some excess dough to get everything sized correctly. 

 

Brush with olive oil, then top with diced pork roll and tallegio. 

 

Place the skillet on the stove and turn the burner on high. Let it go for 3 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Bake for 13 minutes, then remove from the oven. Use a ladle to make divots in the dough and pour in 3 eggs (I suggest you use ramekins to make this easier).

 Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove, and top with arugla and basil.

Dat Crust