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Post by kit on Sept 1, 2014 9:49:13 GMT -5
For a Mediterranean taste, here's how I make hamburgs when I want a change-of-pace from the ordinary ho-hum burgers. This isn't really a recipe...just a guideline. Try it and adjust the amounts to your own taste.
To a pound of good ground beef, I add the following:
1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tbsp dried, crushed mint leaves
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 Tbsp grated Romano cheese
1 egg
salt-and-pepper to taste
Mix well and form into 4 or 5 patties (if too moist, add more bread crumbs). Fry or grill like a regular hamburger and serve on a grilled hamburger bun, topped with Tzatziki sauce*
*Tzatziki sauce: (make a day ahead)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber
1 small (or 1/2 large) clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Process in a food processor or blender until well chopped. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2014 15:40:14 GMT -5
Kit I made your Tzatziki sauce Thursday night for supper. It is delicious. I don't eat beef so I used my Boca burgers and it was delicious. Why does ground beef always look like it had a hair permanent from the way they grid it. All those waves make me sick. Oh well. Thanks.
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Post by Clipper on Sept 27, 2014 18:00:45 GMT -5
I also tried the tzatziki sauce Kit. It was quite tasty. I tried a different twist though. I bought a full pound of thin sliced deli roast beef and made cheese steak sandwiches the other night. Yesterday, we didn't have any hoagie rolls left, so I did my lettuce wrap thing with some of the sliced roast beef, heated in the microwave with a generous sprinkling of shredded 4 cheese Italian blend from Kraft. I then took that off the griddle with a long bladed spatula and dropped it on a large leaf of iceberg lettuce. Topped with a generous tablespoon full of your tzatziki on the meat before rolling the lettuce. I started doing lettuce wraps when I was first on this latest weight loss effort. I have made wraps of chicken salad, deli ham, left over pot roast, and the latest experiment with the cheese steak like filling. I try to limit myself to only two slices of whole grain bread a day, and unless I have a sandwich planned for lunch, I use my ration of bread for toast in the morning.
My plan for the left over tzatziki sauce is to use it as a dip for baby carrots, celery, and fresh radishes. That is my new snack food rather than a half a bag of pretzels or Doritos.
I tried the gyro sandwich that is new on the menu at Arby's while I was in Winston Salem for Kathy's back surgery. It was good, but nothing like the tzatziki sauce made by your recipe.
Alan, the curly appearance of the ground beef in the market is not from the grinding process per say. It is caused by the meat being forced under pressure through the holes in the grinder plate. Most hamburger is ground twice. It is ground with a coarse plate with fairly large holes in it which makes it easier to grind the second time when it is put through the finer plate for the finished product. When grinding, the meat cutter usually holds his gloved hand under the discharge of the grinder and catches the meat rather than to drop free-fallinto a plastic tub. Holding your hand at the discharge will make the ripples you see because you actually are making the ground meat back up in order to gather a decent sized quantity for packaging. Pushing against the other meat already in your hand, forces the fiber like strands of ground meat to ripple into the wavy consistancy that you see in the package.
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Post by kit on Sept 27, 2014 18:37:05 GMT -5
I sort of fabricated the Tzatziki sauce recipe from the sauce they serve at The Acropolis restaurant on James St. in east Utica. It was only a guess, but it turned out okay and is great with all sorts of foods. Glad you both like it.
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Post by Clipper on Sept 28, 2014 21:05:47 GMT -5
You are right about the "great with all sorts of foods" Kit. I used the last of mine today as a salad dressing. Tore up some Romaine, sliced half of an English Cuke, threw in some pitted greek olives, tossed in some sliced radishes and halved cherry tomatoes, and tossed it all with the left over tzatziki. I can't say as I would make the sauce just to use on salads, but it was pretty darned good and a change of pace from the usual bottled dressings.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 15:53:28 GMT -5
I sort of fabricated the Tzatziki sauce recipe from the sauce they serve at The Acropolis restaurant on James St. in east Utica. It was only a guess, but it turned out okay and is great with all sorts of foods. Glad you both like it. I haven't been at the Acropolis in years. I used to have their fish fry every Friday. I like their Mousika and that Greek baked macaroni and cheese dish. I have to take a bus their some Friday while that area is still safe. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 15:54:59 GMT -5
You are right about the "great with all sorts of foods" Kit. I used the last of mine today as a salad dressing. Tore up some Romaine, sliced half of an English Cuke, threw in some pitted greek olives, tossed in some sliced radishes and halved cherry tomatoes, and tossed it all with the left over tzatziki. I can't say as I would make the sauce just to use on salads, but it was pretty darned good and a change of pace from the usual bottled dressings. I like to use it with pita bread that has been warmed and brushed with olive oil. And sometimes I just stick my two fingers in the bowl and eat it that way. I do that with babakanosh and ground chick peas. |
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