Lamb Burgers over Hummus with Heirloom Tomato Salad

Sometimes, you just have to dig out that old cookbook that hides on your kitchen shelf and make a dish that may not be groundbreaking, but sure is delicious.  This one fits the bill.  These lamb burgers are adapted from a recipe in The Mediterranean Cookbook by Parragon Publishing, and are so simple, you can't help but make them effortlessly.  Christian and I made these gluten-free by substituting crushed corn chips instead of bread crumbs and by serving them on hummus instead of buns. Whether you're gluten free or gluten+, give these babies a try.  These lamb burgers are rich, savory and aromatic and are the perfect Mediterranean meal for a warm summer evening.  

Lamb Burgers over Hummus

1 lb. Ground Lamb

3/4 Onion, finely diced

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 Egg

1 T. Fresh Mint, finely chopped

1 T. Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

1/4 C. crushed corn chips (or bread crumbs for gluten+)

S&P

Olive Oil

Soft Goat Cheese

Hummus

Preheat the oven to broil (or turn the grill to high).

In a large bowl, combine the lamb, onion, garlic, egg, mint, parsley, corn chips, S&P.  Using your hands, mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Form into equal sized patties, indenting the center of them slightly.

Drizzle the patties with olive oil and place on a baking sheet (or carefully onto your cleaned grill).  Cook about 5 minutes, flip and cook for another 4 minutes until browned and slightly crisp on the edges and cooked all the way through.  In the last few minutes of cooking, add a spoonful of goat cheese so that it begins to melt on top.

To serve, smear your favorite hummus on the plate, top with the burger and a sprinkle of parsley & mint.  Serve with Heirloom Tomato Salad (recipe follows) and naan.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

We found some fantastic heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market this weekend and decided to make an extremely simple salad with them to go along with our lamb burgers.  Fresh, cool and crisp, this salad is a perfect balance to any rich, hearty entree.

2 Heirloom Tomatoes, chopped

1/4 C. Kalamata Olives, pitted & halved

Parsley & Basil, ripped

Drizzle of Olive Oil

S&P

In a medium bowl, toss all the ingredients.  Yes, it's THAT easy.  

Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos.  They can be really good or they can be RULL bad.  These ones are the former.  Crunchy, zesty, flavorful, fresh and delicious.  They always take me back to the first fish tacos I had, in Oceanside, CA at a restaurant that jutted out into the sea.  They were fabulous.  This is my easy homemade version that you could effortlessly make on a weeknight.  Feel free to switch up the garnish and make them your own!

Fish Tacos
 

Fish Sticks or fillets of white fish, such as tilapia or cod (1-2 per taco)

Tortillas

Cilantro Sour Cream (for the recipe, click here)

Tomato, avocado, cilantro & lime, chopped for garnish

Preheat the oven and bake the fish sticks according to the package's instructions.

Meanwhile, light the flame or electric burner on your stove and using tongs, toss the tortillas over the heat, allowing them to char slightly. 

Once the fish is cooked, place a fillet in each tortilla.  Top with tomatoes, avocado, sour cream and cilantro.  Spramp with fresh lime and enjoy.

Not So Po' Boy Sandwiches

If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would begin to crave fish sticks, I would have told you, “you're crazay!”  This was about the same time that I realized my true love for “queso” and consequently, how I would dress in disguise to embarrassedly purchase Velveeta at the grocery store.  I’ll tell you more about that later… 

Back to fish sticks.  So, I’m pretty sure we all ate these as kids.  Probably with tartar sauce and limp French fries and the faux title of “Fish n’ Chips.”  Well, I’m going to change your mind about them with these Po’ Boy Sandwiches.  I tried a version of these sandwiches awhile back and fell in love.  The crunch is flawless against the pillowy texture of the bread, and the veggies drizzled with the tangy remoulade provide just the right amount of spicy contrast.  Feel free to “elevate” these sammiches with freshly caught, boned, battered and deep-fried fish when you find the time.  For me, I look forward to the wicked, nostalgic sticks. 

Open-faced Po' Boy Sandwiches

Fish Sticks (I prefer beer battered)

Tomato, diced

Cucumber, diced

½ C. Thousand Island Dressing

1 T. Horseradish

Sriracha (optional)

Hawaiian Buns

Something green, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 425. 

Scatter the fish sticks on a baking sheet.  Cook in the oven until they are sizzling and golden brown, flipping once (about 24 minutes total). 

In a medium bowl, toss together the tomato and cucumber.  Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.  Place in the refrigerator to chill.  To make the remoulade sauce, whisk together the Thousand Island Dressing and horseradish in a small bowl.  Taste and season with salt and pepper or more horseradish, if needed.    

In the last 5 minutes of baking the fish, slice the Hawaiian buns in half to form a top and a bottom and set them on the baking sheet with the fish.  All you want is to warm them up and maybe add a slightly crunchy edge. 

I like my sandwiches to be open-faced, but feel free to top them off with another bun if you desire.  To assemble, place the buns on the plate.  Top with the tomato and cucumber relish.  Place a fish stick or two on top and drizzle with the remoulade.  Sprinkle the sandwiches with something green for looks.  

Mom's Meatloaf

I think every man has at least one dish that his mom makes that he can’t live without.  This one’s mine.  This was my favorite Sunday meal growing up.  I remember being a child, walking inside from a day of winter sledding, peeling off my layers of snow clothes, cheeks all rosy, and sitting down to a meal of my mom’s meatloaf and potatoes.  I don’t think there’s much left in this world as real, unpretentious and wonderfully abiding. 

It’s light and dense at the same time, filled with concentrated tomato and smothered in caramel ketchup, bacon and bruléed onions.  Serve this on a cold day with roasted vegetables and horseradish potatoes for some hands-down, hug me hard, wrapped in a blanket, delicious comfort food.

Mom's Meatloaf

2 lbs lean ground beef

¾ Onion, finely diced

¼ Onion, in rings

1 Egg

½ C. bread crumbs

2 Cloves of garlic, minced

1 Can tomato soup

¼ C. Ketchup

2 T. Brown sugar

Bacon

Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine the beef, diced onions, egg, bread crumbs, garlic and tomato soup in a large bowl, mixing with your hands until it is thoroughly combined.   Form the mixture into a large loaf and place in a large baking dish. 

In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup and the brown sugar.  Smear this sauce on top of the meatloaf.  Add the onion rings and top with a single layer of uncooked bacon.  Bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, about 1 hour.  Serve with roasted veggies, your favorite potatoes and extra ketchup. 

*Thank you to Morgan Webb who suggested meatloaf sandwiches.  Each time I make mom’s meatloaf, I’m sure to reserve a few slices for the next day.  Come back to Natural Sugar tomorrow for a killer meatloaf sandwich.  

BONUS Recipe:  Oven Roasted Veggies

You can't go wrong with this side dish.  It's classic, rustic and it seriously couldn't be easier!  Use your favorite veggies or whatever you have in the fridge.

Your favorite veggies, roughly chopped (I use potatoes, onion, carrots & something green)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Your favorite dried herbs (I like thyme or herbs de provence)

Preheat the oven to 375.  

Add all of the chopped veggies to a big bowl.  Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs.  Toss them so they are all evenly covered in flavor.  Dump them onto a baking sheet and spread them into an even layer.  Bake for 30-45 minutes, turning once or twice, until they are beautifully roasted.  

Pasta Rossa

I have a thing about spaghetti noodles.  I don’t like them.  There’s something about the shape and the way it doesn’t hold sauce that distracts me.  Ridiculous, I know.  But I like to pay attention to that kind of thing.  It’s the perfectionist in me that I can’t seem to suppress.  The way I see it, why not make a simple change, like the type of pasta, and arrive at a result that much closer to perfection?  No distractions.  Just pleasant-looking, sauce absorbing, delicious, reassuring pasta. 

With that said, I LOVE ‘spaghetti sauce!’  This recipe really is closer to a Bolognese, so, I’ve renamed it Red Pasta for the sake of simplicity.  But by George, feel free to use whatever your favorite shape and size of pasta is and call it whatever the hell you want!

This red pasta sauce is thick and sumptuous, packed with veggies and meat and deep, rich flavor. 

Good to know:

Marinara Sauce – a simple, tomato-based sauce with basil and garlic.

Spaghetti Sauce – an “Americanism” for a basic red pasta sauce normally served with spaghetti pasta. 

Bolognese – a tomato and meat sauce made with onion, carrots, celery, beef & pork. 

Puttanesca – a tomato sauce with anchovies, chili flakes, olives and capers, named after ‘women of the night.’

4 slices of bacon

1 lb. of ground Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

4 medium-sized carrots, diced

4 ribs of celery, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 C. of your favorite red wine

1 jar of pasta sauce (like garlic & onion OR use several Tablespoons of tomato paste)

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Basil, julienned (thin strips), to garnish

Bacon, crumbled to garnish

Italian sausage, to garnish

Parmesan, to garnish

Your favorite pasta, cooked al dente

In a large pot, cook the bacon over medium-low heat.  By cooking over low heat, you will render all that fat from the bacon, which will help give this sauce even more depth.  Remove the bacon when it’s chewy and cooked through.

Add the Italian sausage to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat, stirring the meat to break it into pieces.  When it has turned brown, remove the sausage and set in a bowl to rest.  Add the diced onion, carrots and celery to the bacon and sausage grease.  Cook this trinity of vegetables (called mire-poix in French, pronounced “meer-pwa”) over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  You want them to turn translucent and start to brown.  Do not let them burn.  Add the garlic and stir to mix it into the veggies.  Cook until it’s fragrant – less than a minute. 

Add the wine to the veggies and bring the mixture to a boil.  Turn down the heat slightly and let the mixture simmer until the wine has reduced and thickened and coats the veggies, about 7 minutes.  *As Ina says, choose a wine that you would actually drink.  If you don’t, then you wont want to eat it either.  If you absolutely HATE red wine, choose a bold white wine like Chardonnay.  It will stand up to the strong meat flavors.  Really, you’re just looking for depth of flavor. 

Once the wine has reduced, add the canned tomatoes and the pasta sauce.  Add the Italian sausage back to the pot as well, reserving just enough to garnish at the end.  Stir to combine and turn the heat to low.  Let this sauce cook for about 30 minutes to all day long.  The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.  If it starts to get too thick, just add a bit of water.  Taste it along the way as well and season with salt and pepper, if needed. 

When you’re ready to eat, cook your pasta to al dente.  This just means that it’s still got a bite to it so it’s not mushy and saturated with water.  You know, like those awful noodles you find in cans of chicken noodle soup! 

I like to drain my noodles thoroughly and then add them right to the sauce.   This way each and every bite of pasta gets coated by sauce.  To garnish, sprinkle with the reserved Italian sausage and bacon, Parmesan cheese and basil.  Serve with garlic bread. 

Squisita!  

*This makes a ton of pasta sauce, so eat some and store the rest in the freezer for later.  

 Like this red pasta?  Try this white one too:

Pasta Bianca