I know, I know. I've pretty much fallen off the face of the planet with this blog. Which is extremely unfortunate because it brings me so much joy to write about food. Life has been extraordinarily busy as of late and will likely to continue to be that way for a while, but my goal is to write at least once a week about something food-related that brings me joy.
Speaking of joy, my sweet, loving partner bought me a $50 gift card to Whole Foods Market for Christmas. No, neither of us normally shop at Whole Foods, but Joe knows that I love cooking and am sometimes limited financially.
Sometime last week, my friend Victoria sent me the link to a recipe for avocado fries. Yes, avocado fries. Nope, folks, it can't get much more decadent than that. Creamy and rich on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mmmm. Fried avocados, by the way, are a popular delicacy in Tex-Mex cuisine, often served in tacos or stuffed with cheese, vegetables, and/or meats. Trudy's in Austin, Texas has the best stuffed avocado plate on the planet, while Torchy's Tacos, my favorite taco joint/food truck in the ENTIRE world, serves the fried avocado taco. IT IS TO DIE FOR, people. TO DIE FOR.
Anyway, as I mentioned, Victoria and I share a love (and longing) for Tex-Mex food, since we both go back so infrequently. You can imagine our delight when we both found out about this recipe!! We both promised to try it and report back our experiences. So, Vic, this post is dedicated to you.
I decided to try out the recipe this weekend; it would be a stress-relieving treat, the end to a horrendously busy week (it was a I-feel-like-I-got-hit-by-a-bus kind of week, seriously). So, Joe and I headed to Whole Foods late Saturday morning with one important mission: bring back ingredients for avocado fries (most of you that know me well know how I get when I embark on culinary missions). On the way, I decided that nothing would go better with my avocado fries than a good 'ole-fashioned hamburger. I thought about substituting turkey for the beef and going for a southwestern-style burger. After much contemplation and open discussion in front of the WF meats section, we decided to purchase some ground lamb and make it a Greek-style burger. Okay, I admit, so there's no specific theme to this meal, but you can't go wrong with a spicy lamb burger alongside rich, creamy avocado fries.
Not to toot my own horn, friends, but everything turned out absolutely delicious. I marinated the lamb with a little garlic, onion, sea salt, crushed red pepper, feta cheese crumbles, and fresh dill and mint leaves. After pan-frying the lamb patty, it was topped with a fresh tomato and feta salad and a strained yogurt sauce*, and served on a toasted kaiser roll. It was spicy. It was juicy. The feta cheese gods (which I imagine to be fuzzy sheep for some reason) were doing a happy dance in my head! The combination of textures -- the crunchy toasted bun with the juiciness of the patty and smooth texture of the "non-traditional tzatziki sauce" -- helped bring all of the flavors together into a delicious bite. Oh, also -- a side note/tangent about dill. Dill is one of my favorite herbs in the world (for the difference between herbs and spices, see this link), not only because it is one of the prettiest, with its bright green, wispy, feathery leaves, but also because it has one of the most unique flavors of all herbs. It really is hard to put your finger on what dill really tastes (it just tastes like dill!), but when I eat it, I taste a slightly sweet flavor with a hint of tang that can really brighten a dish. This may or may not be non-traditional, but I have a tendency to add it to any food that might have even a little bit of Grecian influence. (see recipe below)
*I'm not going to pretend I'm being innovative here when I'm really not (unlike some Food Network show hosts...cough cough...Ina Garten). I hesitate to call the "strained yogurt sauce" by its rightful traditional name, tzatziki sauce, because traditional Greek tzatziki sauce has grated cucumber and I just didn't have any laying around at home. So, don't worry -- I am not trying to claim that I created this brilliant recipe from scratch by giving it another name! I just stole it from somewhere else and forgot to add an ingredient. (Also, if you know me well, you probably remember that I become unhealthily obsessed with a few foods for certain periods of time. A few years ago it was soups. For a few months it was tzatziki sauce...that phase is still lingering, hence the gushing about the strained yogurt sauce, i.e. non-traditional tzatziki sauce.)
Next came the avocado fries. Guys, avocados are creamy and rich enough. They really don't need much seasoning to begin with, so my opinion is to not overdo it. I simply coated it with an egg batter, then bread crumbs, and deep fried for about 20-30 seconds, just as the recipe indicates. My only (minor) negative feedback about the recipe is that topping with parmesan cheese really wasn't necessary, honestly (it was listed as optional, anyway). But, you can never go wrong with parmesan cheese, I suppose. The main problem with the avocado fries come mealtime was that none of us (Joe, my roommate, and myself) could eat more than a few before we became absolutely stuffed. Nevertheless, they were delicious! It makes my mouth water just thinking about them! Overall: an easy, decadent appetizer to make for dinner guests that takes less than 20 minutes to put together.
RECIPE FOR LAMB BURGERS:
Ingredients:
-Kaiser rolls (or your favorite hamburger bun)
-Ground lamb (we bought about a pound and a half)
-2 small/medium tomatoes
-1 small onion
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 bunch fresh dill and mint leaves
-Salt/pepper to taste
-1/2 cup of unsweetened strained yogurt**
-1 fresh lime (don't use the pre-packaged lime juices! they're not as good!!)
**If you don't have unsweetened Greek yogurt on hand (which I almost never do), just strain the yogurt in cheesecloth over a large bowl or in the sink. It should take no more than 20 minutes. If you don't have cheese cloth on hand (which I also almost never do), then you can use an old scrap of a clean cotton t-shirt -- it will do the trick just as well as your fancy old cheesecloth (and saves you some cash!).
Preparation:
-Meat: Marinate the ground lamb in a large bowl with 1 clove of finely chopped garlic, 1 slice of onion (I personally don't like too much onion in anything), some crumbled cheese (use your own judgment on how much to put in), salt/pepper to taste, crushed red pepper (also to taste), the squeeze of 1/4 of a lime, and a handful of finely chopped mint leaves and dill sprigs. Set meat aside and let it marinade for about an hour.
-Tomato and feta salad: Combine 2 chopped tomatoes, 1/4 of a small, chopped onion, the squeeze of 1/2 a lime, salt and pepper to taste, a handful of chopped dill and mint leaves, and a generous serving of feta cheese :).
-Strained yogurt sauce (i.e. non-traditional tzatziki sauce): Combine 1 VERY finely chopped clove of garlic, half a cup of strained yogurt, generous amount of salt, squeeze of half a lime, and a handful of chopped dill.
-Toast both sides of your bun. Apply yogurt sauce to one side of the bun and the meat patty on the other. Top the patty with the tomato and feta salad.
-Enjoy!
Speaking of joy, my sweet, loving partner bought me a $50 gift card to Whole Foods Market for Christmas. No, neither of us normally shop at Whole Foods, but Joe knows that I love cooking and am sometimes limited financially.
Sometime last week, my friend Victoria sent me the link to a recipe for avocado fries. Yes, avocado fries. Nope, folks, it can't get much more decadent than that. Creamy and rich on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mmmm. Fried avocados, by the way, are a popular delicacy in Tex-Mex cuisine, often served in tacos or stuffed with cheese, vegetables, and/or meats. Trudy's in Austin, Texas has the best stuffed avocado plate on the planet, while Torchy's Tacos, my favorite taco joint/food truck in the ENTIRE world, serves the fried avocado taco. IT IS TO DIE FOR, people. TO DIE FOR.
Anyway, as I mentioned, Victoria and I share a love (and longing) for Tex-Mex food, since we both go back so infrequently. You can imagine our delight when we both found out about this recipe!! We both promised to try it and report back our experiences. So, Vic, this post is dedicated to you.
I decided to try out the recipe this weekend; it would be a stress-relieving treat, the end to a horrendously busy week (it was a I-feel-like-I-got-hit-by-a-bus kind of week, seriously). So, Joe and I headed to Whole Foods late Saturday morning with one important mission: bring back ingredients for avocado fries (most of you that know me well know how I get when I embark on culinary missions). On the way, I decided that nothing would go better with my avocado fries than a good 'ole-fashioned hamburger. I thought about substituting turkey for the beef and going for a southwestern-style burger. After much contemplation and open discussion in front of the WF meats section, we decided to purchase some ground lamb and make it a Greek-style burger. Okay, I admit, so there's no specific theme to this meal, but you can't go wrong with a spicy lamb burger alongside rich, creamy avocado fries.
Not to toot my own horn, friends, but everything turned out absolutely delicious. I marinated the lamb with a little garlic, onion, sea salt, crushed red pepper, feta cheese crumbles, and fresh dill and mint leaves. After pan-frying the lamb patty, it was topped with a fresh tomato and feta salad and a strained yogurt sauce*, and served on a toasted kaiser roll. It was spicy. It was juicy. The feta cheese gods (which I imagine to be fuzzy sheep for some reason) were doing a happy dance in my head! The combination of textures -- the crunchy toasted bun with the juiciness of the patty and smooth texture of the "non-traditional tzatziki sauce" -- helped bring all of the flavors together into a delicious bite. Oh, also -- a side note/tangent about dill. Dill is one of my favorite herbs in the world (for the difference between herbs and spices, see this link), not only because it is one of the prettiest, with its bright green, wispy, feathery leaves, but also because it has one of the most unique flavors of all herbs. It really is hard to put your finger on what dill really tastes (it just tastes like dill!), but when I eat it, I taste a slightly sweet flavor with a hint of tang that can really brighten a dish. This may or may not be non-traditional, but I have a tendency to add it to any food that might have even a little bit of Grecian influence. (see recipe below)
*I'm not going to pretend I'm being innovative here when I'm really not (unlike some Food Network show hosts...cough cough...Ina Garten). I hesitate to call the "strained yogurt sauce" by its rightful traditional name, tzatziki sauce, because traditional Greek tzatziki sauce has grated cucumber and I just didn't have any laying around at home. So, don't worry -- I am not trying to claim that I created this brilliant recipe from scratch by giving it another name! I just stole it from somewhere else and forgot to add an ingredient. (Also, if you know me well, you probably remember that I become unhealthily obsessed with a few foods for certain periods of time. A few years ago it was soups. For a few months it was tzatziki sauce...that phase is still lingering, hence the gushing about the strained yogurt sauce, i.e. non-traditional tzatziki sauce.)
Next came the avocado fries. Guys, avocados are creamy and rich enough. They really don't need much seasoning to begin with, so my opinion is to not overdo it. I simply coated it with an egg batter, then bread crumbs, and deep fried for about 20-30 seconds, just as the recipe indicates. My only (minor) negative feedback about the recipe is that topping with parmesan cheese really wasn't necessary, honestly (it was listed as optional, anyway). But, you can never go wrong with parmesan cheese, I suppose. The main problem with the avocado fries come mealtime was that none of us (Joe, my roommate, and myself) could eat more than a few before we became absolutely stuffed. Nevertheless, they were delicious! It makes my mouth water just thinking about them! Overall: an easy, decadent appetizer to make for dinner guests that takes less than 20 minutes to put together.
RECIPE FOR LAMB BURGERS:
Ingredients:
-Kaiser rolls (or your favorite hamburger bun)
-Ground lamb (we bought about a pound and a half)
-2 small/medium tomatoes
-1 small onion
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 bunch fresh dill and mint leaves
-Salt/pepper to taste
-1/2 cup of unsweetened strained yogurt**
-1 fresh lime (don't use the pre-packaged lime juices! they're not as good!!)
**If you don't have unsweetened Greek yogurt on hand (which I almost never do), just strain the yogurt in cheesecloth over a large bowl or in the sink. It should take no more than 20 minutes. If you don't have cheese cloth on hand (which I also almost never do), then you can use an old scrap of a clean cotton t-shirt -- it will do the trick just as well as your fancy old cheesecloth (and saves you some cash!).
Preparation:
-Meat: Marinate the ground lamb in a large bowl with 1 clove of finely chopped garlic, 1 slice of onion (I personally don't like too much onion in anything), some crumbled cheese (use your own judgment on how much to put in), salt/pepper to taste, crushed red pepper (also to taste), the squeeze of 1/4 of a lime, and a handful of finely chopped mint leaves and dill sprigs. Set meat aside and let it marinade for about an hour.
-Tomato and feta salad: Combine 2 chopped tomatoes, 1/4 of a small, chopped onion, the squeeze of 1/2 a lime, salt and pepper to taste, a handful of chopped dill and mint leaves, and a generous serving of feta cheese :).
-Strained yogurt sauce (i.e. non-traditional tzatziki sauce): Combine 1 VERY finely chopped clove of garlic, half a cup of strained yogurt, generous amount of salt, squeeze of half a lime, and a handful of chopped dill.
-Toast both sides of your bun. Apply yogurt sauce to one side of the bun and the meat patty on the other. Top the patty with the tomato and feta salad.
-Enjoy!
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| Avocado fries, topped with parmesan cheese. |
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| Tomato and feta salad, used as a topper for the lamb burger. |
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| Tzatziki sauce minus grated cucumber. |
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| DELICIOUS LAMB BURGERS! |
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| The finished product. It was delicious. |
I'm resisting the temptation to lick my computer screen right now....yummy!!
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