How do you keep meal planning simple? I often have some kind of meat defrosting overnight in the refrigerator. Ground beef, for example, is so versatile. I don’t necessarily know until I start cooking what it will become. Cooking without a recipe is so liberating!
What’s in those little burgers? Could be just about anything you wanted. I made them kofta style with lots of onion, parsley and Middle Eastern spices.
Did I say onion? Yes, I mean a lot of it, which is why I took this picture to show you. You could use less, but I chopped a whole medium onion in the food processor to go with a pound of meat. A big handful of parsley and half that amount of cilantro went into the food processor next to be chopped. To that mixture I added the following dried spices in descending order of amounts:
- turmeric
- cumin
- garlic
- cardamom
- cinnamon
- ginger
- salt
If I had some coriander, I would have used that too, but I was out. Time to order spices!
You could cook these just about any way you wanted. On a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes seemed the easiest in this case. Flipped them over at around 12-15 minutes.
Make it a meatloaf, meatballs or hot dog shaped. Serve with Middle Eastern dips like roasted eggplant or yogurt, along with flatbread and salads. Or…serve some mashed potatoes and gravy with whatever fresh veggies are handy.
Pictured above, lamb stock from the freezer made a quick gravy. Swiss chard stems roasted in the oven while the leaves were sautéed just until wilted.
How about adding a touch of tomato sauce and serving with a salad of rice and parsley? Cook once and enjoy multiple meals. It’s fun cooking without a recipe and so easy to do.
Ready to sneak another vegetable in there? Take Your Burger Further With This Surprise Ingredient.
You make me hungry!