Turkish Walnut Lamb Recipes

TURKISH-STYLE LAMB BURGERS WITH WALNUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Soak bulgur for burgers:
• Pour boiling-hot water over bulgur with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and soak 15 minutes, then drain in a sieve.
• Make sauce while bulgur soaks:
• Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt (1/8 teaspoon) using a large heavy knife, then transfer to a food processor and blend with remaining sauce ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
• Prepare burgers:
• Preheat broiler.
• Pulse onion and herbs in cleaned processor until finely chopped, then transfer to a bowl and stir in bulgur, lamb, paprika, allspice, pepper, cayenne, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until just combined. Form lamb mixture into 4 patties (4 inches in diameter).
• Broil pitas and burgers:
• Arrange pitas on a baking sheet. Brush with oil, then lightly dust with paprika and season with pepper. Broil on lowest rack until toasted, 1 to 3 minutes (watch to prevent burning). Keep pitas warm, loosely covered with foil, while broiling burgers.
• Oil rack of a broiler pan and heat 4 inches from heat until hot, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Broil burgers, turning over once, until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total. Serve burgers on pitas, topped with sauce.

TURKISH WALNUT LAMB

Steps:

• Saute the onions in the butter for a couple minutes.
• Add the lamb and continue lightly frying until the pieces start to brown.
• Add the stock, cover and simmer gently for 1/2 hour.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by stirring the water into the ground walnuts.
• Add the pomegranate syrup and sugar and simmer gently over a low heat for 10 minutes.
• Add the walnut sauce to the lamb, along with the seasonings and lemon juice.
• Continue to simmer, covered, over a low heat for another 30 minutes.
• Adjust the seasonings by adding a little sugar if the dish is too sour or more pomegranate syrup if it is too sweet.
• Serve with basmati rice.

SLOW-ROASTED TURKISH LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut lamb shoulder into 2 or 3 pieces, and place in a shallow 12-by-14-inch roasting pan or similar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired.
• Rub meat with olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Tuck thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves and onion halves here and there. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.
• Turn meat browned-side down and add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover tightly with foil or lid. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Cook, covered, until meat is absolutely fork tender and beginning to fall apart, about 3 1/2 hours total. Uncover during last 30 minutes of cooking if you want to brown the meat a bit more.
• Remove meat to a cutting board. Pour pan juices into a skillet (discard herbs and garlic). Skim and discard excess fat from surface. Bring to a boil and simmer until about a cup remains.
• Chop or shred meat into 1-inch chunks or rough slices. Transfer to a warm platter and pour juices over. (Alternatively, leave meat in pan with reduced juices until ready to serve.) Garnish with persimmon and pomegranate (if using), parsley, mint and lemon wedges. Serve yogurt on the side.

TURKISH-STYLE LAMB BOREKS

Steps:

• Prepare the meat filling: Place a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter. When oil and butter are hot, add onions and cook briskly, stirring, until onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add lamb to onions and break into rough pieces with a wooden spoon, mashing occasionally, until lamb is crumbly and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Season mixture generously with salt and pepper, then add cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and sumac. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, stirring. Raise heat as necessary to let mixture brown well. Stir in pomegranate molasses, raisins and pine nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning, then set aside to cool.
• Prepare the cheese filling: Put feta and yogurt in a bowl and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper, whisk in beaten egg, then stir in parsley, fresh mint and dried mint.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Assemble boreks one at a time: Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush very lightly with olive oil. Carefully place another phyllo sheet directly on top and brush with oil. Fold this doubled sheet in half, to form a rectangle 9 by 14 inches. Position it so the 9-inch end is facing you.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons cheese filling over surface of rectangle, smearing with the back of a spoon to cover, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/4 cup lamb mixture in a 2-inch ribbon along the edge closest to you.
• Fold over long sides of pastry an inch or so to help contain filling. Lift edge and loosely roll up pastry away from you, as if rolling up a carpet. Brush pastry lightly with oil as you proceed. The result should look like a flat cigar, about 3 inches wide and about 8 inches long. Continue to assemble remaining boreks.
• Transfer pastries to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing them 1 inch apart. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame, nigella or poppy seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TURKISH LAMB CHOPS WITH SUMAC, TAHINI, AND DILL

Steps:

• Prepare the lamb:
• Combine the Turkish red pepper, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds in a small bowl. Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat, add the spice mixture, and toast until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mortar or spice grinder, add the salt and black pepper, and either pound or briefly grind until you get a coarse-textured spice mix. Don't overdo it if you've gone electric here-the coarse texture is an essential part of the dish.
• Pat the spice mixture all over the lamb chops, and let them marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or uncovered in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
• Make the tahini sauce:
• While the lamb is marinating, in a food processor, blend the lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Then add the tahini and ground cumin, and blend until a thick paste forms. With the processor running, gradually add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is smooth enough to drizzle.
• Heat a grill or broiler to high.
• Drizzle the chops lightly with olive oil. Grill the chops until they are charred on the outside and cooked to taste within (or broil the chops on a broiler pan or rimmed baking sheet). Cooking time will depend on how thick your chops are, so watch them carefully: 2-inch-thick bone-in chops will take at least 3 to 5 minutes per side for rare. You'll need less time for thinner chops, and more time if you like them cooked medium rare or beyond. Let the lamb rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, drizzle the tahini sauce over the chops, and garnish them with the dill sprigs. Add a dusting of the red sumac if you like.