Kafta (Kofta)

What do you do when you're bored of hamburgers, meatballs, tacos and your husband doesn't eat meatloaf? 

You hunt around for other ideas. Desperate for something fairly easy. And the Lebanese kofta from Silk Road Recipes was! You can make it with lamb or beef, and since we had ground beef, why not? 

I have a pretty extensive spice cabinet in my house, which made this even more simple. I was able to put together the Lebanese 7 Spice Blend that's critical to the flavor of this. You can find the link for the blend on Silk Road Recipes.

I served it with fresh naan, and a variation of tzadtziki sauce (basically all the ingredients, but no cucumber). It's going on the replay list! 

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Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef or ground lamb
• 1 cup diced yellow onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves
• 2 tsp Lebanese 7 spice
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil only if cooking in skillet
• 1 large tomato or 2-3 Plum or Romas sliced

Instructions

• Put the ground beef in a large bowl with the chopped onion, parsley, Lebanese Spice Blend, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly using hands.
• Divide the meat mixture into 6 to 10 patties or long fat fingers depending on the size you prefer. Feel free to use skewers if you like or grill without.
• If grilling, clean and oil the grill. Grill on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Make sure to keep turning the kafta to get grill marks on all sides (See Note 2). If using a skillet over medium heat, cook and brown on all sides (8-10 minutes).
• If desired, add sliced tomato to the grill and cook along with the meat for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve immediately with rice, salad, wrapped in a lavash (flatbread) or khubz (pita).

Notes

1. For a smoother kafta feel free to finely grate the onion and squeeze excess liquid out before adding to the meat.
2. If cooking in a skillet, add the oil to the pan and saute in a large skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the kafta over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Flatbread (Naan)

Flatbread is just about universal. You can go anywhere and get these delicious little Frisbees of goodness. I never realized just how easy they were until tonight. 

This particular flatbread is naan, the Indian variety. I think I made a northern Indian variety because these are hardy and heavy and you'd need that in the higher elevations. Total speculation, of course. They weren't as light as some others I've had. But tasted... well, the hubs ate three with the kofta I made it for. 

This recipe come from Easy Weeknight Recipes. Please check out their blog for more insight on this recipe.

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Ingredients

• 1¼ cups lukewarm water about 105˚F
• 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¾ cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ tablespoon dried basil
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ cup olive oil for brushing

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl whisk together water, yeast, and sugar; set aside for 8 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. Whisk in the yogurt, olive oil, salt, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.
• Add flour and parsley, and stir everything together with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.
• Generously sprinkle flour over your kitchen counter or work-area and turn dough onto the floured surface; turn to coat and then knead for 4 minutes. Sprinkle more flour if the dough is sticky while kneading.
• Cut dough into 10 equal pieces and form each piece into a small ball. I use a kitchen scale to weigh each dough ball so to make sure they are all equal. Lightly sprinkle each dough ball with flour; cover them with a kitchen towel and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Preheat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Take one of the dough balls and, using a rolling pin, roll it out to about a 7-inch circle. Lightly brush the top of the rolled out dough with olive oil.
• When the pan is hot, pick up the rolled out dough and place it in the pan, oiled side down, and cook for about 1 ½ minutes, or until the top surface is covered with bubbles. While frying, brush the opposite side of the flatbread with olive oil. Flip the flatbread and cook for 1 more minute, or until golden on the bottom. Remove from pan and transfer to a plate; keep cooked flatbreads covered with a kitchen towel while working with the rest of the dough. Repeat the process with the remaining balls of dough. Make sure to keep the other dough balls covered while working. Serve warm or cold.

Homemade Hot Pockets

So I saw this on Joshua Weissman's YouTube and I wanted to try it. 

Now, the thing is that he uses guanciale (gwan-chee-allee), and that requires an Italian store. I tried a few different places for it, and I was almost sure I was going to have to order it from a deli in the Bronx. On a whim, I decided to try a small Italian deli in Whitehall, PA called Stravino's. 

Y'all, a kid in a candy shop. All authentic Italian products, good American substitute, and unique pastas. Cheese to die for, and Ta-da! Guanciale! Not cheap, didn't expect it to be. 

If you're not lucky, you can order online from Amazon, but I'd actually order from DiBruno Brothers in Philly or from Vincenzo's meats in the Bronx. You need just a 1/4lb, so don't balk at the price per pound. 

If neither of those options work, I'd probably go with a belly cut... just look for really fatty original bacon. (Not hardwood or Applewood smoked, plain.) Don't use salt pork, that's gonna mess with the flavor.

I used Peppridge Farm Puff Pastry, but if you can find something a little more upscale, go for it. 

And allow time for the sauce! That was my downfall-- I started late for sauce. 

Ingredients

- 1/4 lb guanciale/fatty bacon, diced

- 6 oz tomato paste

- 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

- 1 to 2 tsp of sugar

- 1 tbls italian blend herbs

- salt to taste

- olive oil

- shredded mozzarella (about 8 oz)

- shredded gran padano or Parmigiano (4 oz)

- pepperoni (diced or mini rounds)

- 1 pgk puff pastry

- egg wash (1 egg and 1 tbls cream)

- 1/3rd cup butter 

Directions

Sauce

- add a tsp of olive oil to a skillet and heat. Add diced guanciale and cook until rendered and browned, stir often

- add garlic and toast for about 2 to 3 minutes, stir constantly

- add tomato paste and 1 6oz can of water, stir to combine

- add sugar, salt and herbs, mix to combine. Set to low, cover, and let cook for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste occasionally and adjust herbs, sugar and salt. 

Assembly

- Preheat over to suggest temp on pastry box. (Mine was 400°) 

- unfold pastry and using a rolling pin, stretch the pastry out, as much as you feel comfortable. (I wound up with six.)

- using a pizza cutter, divide evenly into about 3 by 5 squares

- brush edges with egg wash, then start layering: 

Sauce - cheese - pepperoni - sauce - cheese

Weissman says to brush the other half with the wash, but I found those difficult to seal well. Your call. 

- Seal WELL. Otherwise its all over the place. I used a fork, he used a pasta cutter. Whatever works.

- place on a line baking tray, brush with egg wash, poke some small holes in the top so they don't explode, and place in the over for 15 to 20 minutes. 

- Brush with melted butter once you remove them from the oven. 

Enjoy, but be warned, they are called Hot Pockets for a reason!