Middle east feast

We really are making the most of the Chicago summer.  Yesterday morning I awoke to very sore shoulders after kayaking down the Chicago river Sunday afternoon.  Apart from dodging boats and taking a few waves in the face, it was a great way to spend a summer's Sunday.  

As I'm sure you can imagine, we were starving afterwards and I woke up early to watch the final stage of the Tour de France (oops... the tour de Lance) and prepare a few Middle Eastern dishes for a barbecue.  Lamb is probably my favorite meat, but it seems many Americans don't like the taste of it.  It's extremely popular in the UK and it's so flavorful- I love to slow cook it and buy it ground for burgers, like the ones below.

I like these lamb burgers because they steer away from the typical menu for outdoor eating.  They are also easy to prepare and with a selection of tasty dips and salads, they make a real feast.  I made a platter of fresh heirloom tomatoes seasoned liberally with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil and topped with crumbled feta.  I added some store-bought red pepper hummus that I again drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled on some smoked paprika.  

Greek yogurt and lamb are a match made in heaven so I spooned some into a dish so people could help themselves.  This recipe for the burgers suggests they are served with a black olive, parsley, tomato and lemon juice relish- it was a great combination.  

We grilled a pile of whole wheat pitta breads that had been split open so we could slide the burgers in.

Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers with Black Olive Relish

Adapted from Living and Eating by John Pawson and Annie Bell

Serves 4

1 1/3 lb best minced lamb

1 tbsp finely chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

sea salt and black pepper

4 pitta breads to serve

Put together all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly... using your hands is the best way to get everything combined.  Shape a quarter of the mixture into a ball and then flatten into burgers- tossing them back and forth between your hands will make a nice compact burger.  Do these ahead of time and then cover and chill them in the fridge.

For the Black Olive Relish:

1 tomato, sliced and cut into strips

1 large handful each of parsley and coriander (cilantro) leaves

50 g black olives, pitted and roughly chopped

squeeze of lemon juice

Combine the ingredients... you can give the parsley and cilantro a rough chop if you'd like or leave them whole.

Brush the burgers with a little olive oil then grill them over hot coals for about 4-5 minutes each side.  Grill the pittas for about 30 seconds each side and place a burger in each one with some of the relish to serve.

As a salad, this is to lamb what cheese is to macaroni.  This is another of my beloved Nigella's recipes and she serves it with pink seared lamb loins sliced and draped across it.  Try it-it's amazing.  Bulgar wheat is easy to find (in the UK it's in every super market and I found mine at Whole Foods here in Chicago).  It's apparently a wonderful addition to veggie chili, something I'll have to try in the colder months that I can't bear to think about right now.

So get out there, start chopping a ton of fresh herbs, squeezing limes and attack some courgettes (zucchini) with a vegetable peeler and you won't be sorry.

Bulgar Wheat Salad

Adapted from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson

Serves 8

250 g bulgar wheat

large bunch of coriander (cilantro)

large bunch of mint leaves 

6-8 spring onions

1 fresh green chilli

2 small or 1 medium courgette (zuchinni)

juice of 4-5 limes

8 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper

For the bulgar wheat, follow the packet instructions.  If your bulgar wheat came from a self serve section in Whole Foods, then just put it in a bowl, boil a kettle full of water and pour it over.  Leave for about 5 minutes and check it until it's tender.  Drain it in a sieve and squeeze as  much water out as possible.

Chop the coriander (cilantro) and mint.  Finely slice the spring onions, de-seed the chilli and finely chop that too.  If you're using 2 small courgettes (zucchini) then finely chop one, if you're just using one, reserve some to peel over the top of the salad.

Juice the limes and pour it over the bulgar wheat along with the olive oil.  Add salt and pepper and toss well.  Add the courgette (zucchini), chilli, coriander, mint and spring onions and mix thoroughly.  

Peel the remaining courgette (zucchini) with a vegetable peeler so you get thin slices and arrange over the salad with a few remaining sprinkles of mint and coriander (cilantro).  

To top off the weekend's birthday celebrations, Alethea and Philippe made this gorgeously zingy lemon/lime Love Cake which I promise to get the recipe for and share with you.  

You guessed it, we loved it.

It's my party

It's my birthday and it's gorgeous outside (which is quite a surprise since I almost jinxed myself), so I won't spend a lot of time waxing lyrical about these lovely little lettuce cups.  They are quite appropriate because I am heading to one of my favorite sushi places in Chicago tonight and they do amazing lettuce cups.  I've been going to Rise with my sister since they first opened and I was still living in London.  Any time I would fly in, I'd request that we went there for dinner the night I arrived.  There was something about the mix of a devilish martini and a few glasses of crisp white wine paired with sushi and jet lag that I couldn't get enough of.  

There are plenty of great sushi places in London, Zuma being my favorite, but you tend to have to pay a lot to get good quality.   I took my parents there, which was part of the "take parents to expensive restaurant that we cannot afford on our own plan" that we implemented on their many visits.  My Mom, who did not eat sushi, ordered lobster tempura with a kick-ass wasabi sauce for more money than should be allowed.  Over several glasses of saki, Martin, who was suffering from a very painful back, was still having a little trouble loosening up.  My Mom, "the pill pusher", as we liked to call her, fished out one of her prescription Vicodin and promptly persuaded Martin to take it.  There's something to be said about my Mom and Martin together- I think they both thought the other was rather hilarious.  Ten minutes later, Martin was feeling great, thanking my Mom, Pam, profusely and announcing that he felt "loosey goosey"-one of my all time favorite Pam and Marty memories.

So I'm not going to show you how to make sushi- I've taken a class, but I can't seem to get it right at home.  I think I'll leave it the chefs who train for years.  Back to these lettuce cups.  Rise's version is with chicken, and mine use beef- you could easily try both.  I swear these are easy, delicious delightful on a hot summers evening with a very cold glass of beer.

Thai Crumbled Beef in Lettuce Cups

Adapted from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin

2 red chillies, finely chopped

1/2 lb ground beef

few drops of fish sauce

4 green onions, finely chopped

zest and juice of 1 lime

handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)

1 tsp sea salt

1-2 iceberg lettuces

Head oil in the frying pan on medium heat and when warm, add the cumin, chopped chillies and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally- don't let them burn.  Add the beef and turn up the heat.  Break up the meat as you go with a wooden spoon or fork and cook thoroughly until no signs of pink remains- should take about 4 minutes.  Add the fish sauce (which does have a salty flavor).  Cook until the liquid has evaporated.  Off the heat, season with a little salt, stir in the green onions, zest and juice of the lime and most of the coriander.  

Turn into a bowl and sprinkle over the remaining coriander (cilantro).

Pull the leaves off the iceberg lettuce so they are small cups just waiting for the deliciously hot beef.  People can do these themselves while you crack open some beers.

Sunday morning coming down

This recipe came stamped on the bottom of a lovely hand made loaf pan that I picked up at Sturgeon River Pottery in Michigan. It is beautifully glazed earthy browns and greens, and as soon as I turned it over and saw this recipe on the bottom, I was sold.

This morning I awoke in somewhat of a fog, just like my favorite Kris Kristofferson song. It took me a while to get going, but the thought of making this recipe got me moving. I only ever make something this sweet on a Sunday morning, and preferably after I've done some form of exercise. So this morning we ran to the dog beach while this was baking in the oven. We've taken our dog, Indy, to a lot of beaches, but Montrose Dog Beach is probably his favorite. He literally goes crazy there, running around, barking at everyone and nearly drowning himself. Martin and I have had to save him on several occasions when he can't find his toy floating out where the big dogs swim.

This picture pretty much sums him up. Needless to say, he's usually curled up on the sofa for the rest of the day.

We came back and made some fresh coffee with frothy milk - our favorite homemade cappuccinos. The cinnamon sugar reminded me of what my Mom used to put on my white toast as a kid. Toast a piece of bread and butter liberally. Combine 1/3 cup of sugar with a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle a tiny amount over the buttered toast. Keep the rest for other mornings. My Mom used to keep this in an old fashioned metal salt shaker in the cupboard so cinnamon toast was only a shake away.

This is so easy to make, especially because it uses refrigerator biscuits. It would be great served with a fruit salad as part of a brunch for friends or family.

Cinnamon Pull Aparts

Adapted from Sturgeon River Pottery

Two 7.5 oz cans refrigerator biscuits

1/2 cup organic sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

For the topping:

1/3 cup of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 loaf pan, greased with unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350F. Open the refrigerator biscuits and divide each can into two sections. Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a plate and roll all four sections liberally in the sugar to coat all edges. Place them into the greased loaf pan.

Melt the 1/3 cup of unsalted butter with the light brown sugar and remaining cinnamon in a small pan over medium heat. Pour on top of the biscuits and bake for 35-40 minutes until the biscuits rise and the topping is bubbly and golden brown.

Serve with coffee and fruit salad.