Chef´s Choice – Turkish Cuisine
Turkish Meatballs (Rissoles)
Turkish cuisine is largely the continuation of Ottoman cuisine, which in turn borrowed many elements from Central Asian, Caucasian, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Greek and Balkan cuisines.
Turkish cuisine varies across the country. The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and rest of the Aegean region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, with a lighter use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, köftes and a wider availability of vegetable stews (Türlü), eggplant, stuffed dolmas and fish. The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi) and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast (e.g. Urfa, Gaziantep, and Adana) is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as Baklava, Söbiyet, Kadayıf, and Künefe.
Ingredients
500 g boneless lamb, minced- 500g lean beef, minced
- 2 medium sized onions, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 50 ml tomato paste
- 1 tbsp cumin podwer
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
Preparation
Prepare a paste, placing onions and garlic into a blender, slowly drizzling in about 1 to 2 tbsp of olive oil until the mixture has a paste-like consistency. Add the chopped parsley to the onion paste and blend for a few seconds.
Place the lamb, beef, cumin, paprika and tomato paste in a large bowl. Add the onion paste into the bowl and knead it well with wet hands. Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture, crack the eggs and add them to the meat mixture. Knead the whole lot until it combines properly.
Put the mixture aside for about 10 minutes to let the flavour develop, then knead once more for a little while.
Form about 5 cm diameter finger-thick round patties out of the mixture with wet hands and place them on a large plate, making sure that they do not stick together. Cover the plate with clear film, and put it into the fridge for at least one hour.
Heat a a little bit of olive oil in a large grill pan / skillet over medium heat and fry the meat patties until they are deep golden brown on both sides, turning only once.
P.S. You can, of course, also use the charcoal or gas grill.
