Progress report

[redbird]

I have cooked dinner two nights in a row.

This may not seem like much, but it had been a while. Both were what I think of as easy meals, meaning that I don't need to think about them. But both involved protein, vegetables, and rice, and both were tasty.

Tomorrow I may leave Inwood.

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reminding me about vegetables. :)

Where do you get the lamb for your patties? I don't recall when I last saw ground lamb sold. I imagine Bobby Lee's Country Smokehouse has it, though.

[redbird]

This won't help: I get it at the local supermarket. They've been carrying it on and off for the last couple of years; when they have it, I buy a package and toss it in the freezer (usually dividing the package to get an amount suited for a family of two).

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Yum. It'd be nice for a change. I'll check Bobby Lee's. If you are willing to share a recipe for the patties, I'd be delighted; I can also happily make it up as I go along.

Lamb patties

[redbird]

The original recipe (I don't remember where I found it):

1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 scallion, diced (aka green onion, aka spring onion)
Enough olive or other oil to cover the bottom of a skillet

Mix the first three ingredients using your hands. Form into patties. Heat the pan and then add the oil. Saute patties until done.

The current version:

1/2 pound ground lamb, or such approximation as the supermarket provides
Cumin, probably about 3/4 teaspoon (I've stopped measuring it)
A spoonful of ginger paste (if not handy, use some powdered ginger)
1 scallion, diced; a shallot or even a little bit of yellow onion will do if you don't have a scallion
Enough olive or other oil to cover the bottom of a skillet

Mix lamb, cumin, and ginger with your hands. [If cooking for a household that indulges a cat or dog, set aside a little of the meat at this point.]

Mix in the scallion. Use as much of it as the meat will hold.

Form into patties. Saute in olive oil, making sure it's well done unless you really really trust your butcher (standard ground meat advice these days, alas).

If you've set aside a bit for a cat or dog, it's probably smaller than the patties for the humans, so start cooking it when you turn the other patties. Expect bits of scallion to fall out during the cooking. Ignore them.

This goes well with basmati rice. Start the rice before the lamb, because it can sit in the pot if it's done first. Good bread is also a suitable accompaniment--our default bread is seeded rye, but that has as much to do with geography as with personal preference.

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

Yeay, progress!