Not hibernating for the winter, honest!
Feb. 7th, 2008 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fenchurchI'm not sure why it is... but whenever I add new things to my life, it sort of blows my existing routine out of the water and it always takes a bit for me to find my equilibrium again. So, I recently started some new projects and, as a result, it feels like I've gotten almost nothing else done for the past few weeks. If I owe you a reply for something, don't be too shocked to hear from me as I move through my email backlog.
In other news, I finally decided to give Weight Watchers a try. I kept putting it off because, really, it's not something I haven't been able to do before on my own... before the car accident, I was down 30 pounds and still losing, but the accident and the subsequent injury recovery pretty much blew it all out of the water (not being able to exercise and, for a few months, not being able to even prepare my own food, really made it difficult). Don't worry, I won't be talking about it a whole lot here... or if I do, I'll probably put it on a filter of people I don't think will get annoyed by it. :-) On the whole, though, I'm quite pleased with how Weight Watchers Online works... the best part being that I can still *cook* (rather than just throwing ingredients together or eating pre-prepared food) and experiment.
All of that was mostly to explain how I found this absolutely divine recipe I wanted to share... I snagged it off the Australian Weight Watchers Online website (I've been haunting both that site and the UK one, gleaning them for recipe ideas). It's not something that's "good, for diet food." It's just flat-out good food.
Feta-Stuffed Lamb Burgers with Mint Yogurt Sauce
I don't know how long they leave the recipes up on that site for the public, so the link may disappear eventually. Also, I did some tweaking to Americanize ingredient names and measurements, and to correct some of the problems in the way the recipe was written.
WW POINTS: 5
(ETA: Oops! That's 5.5 with the yogurt sauce)
Servings: 4
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 shallot segment, peeled, thinly sliced and coarsely chopped
2 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs sherry vinegar
60 g low-fat feta cheese, crumbled (about 2 oz, if you don't have a metric scale)
1 egg white
For the yogurt sauce:
185 g low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt (about 6.5 ounces)
3 tbs fresh mint, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Topping:
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 medium onion, (Spanish), thinly sliced
1/2 whole yellow or red bell pepper, deseeded, thinly sliced
Mix lamb, shallots, 2 cloves garlic, fresh oregano, parsley, lemon zest, cumin and vinegar until thoroughly combined (I just used my hands). Season well with salt and pepper. Add feta and egg white and mix to combine. Shape lamb mixture into 4 patties. Place on a plate, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook without moving for 3-5 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Repeat with remaining burgers if they do not all fit on grill pan at once.
To make yogurt sauce: place yogurt, mint and remaining garlic in a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
To assemble burgers, either slice each pita in half horizontally or just use two whole pitas if they are small enough (the ones we got from Trader Joe's worked well that way and are only 2 Points for the two of them). Place a burger on one half and spoon over 2 tablespoons of yogurt sauce. Top with tomato, onion and bell pepper and remaining pita. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes:
The patty mixture can be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container in fridge. Any leftover cooked patties can be stored in fridge for 1-2 days and reheated in microwave. Add some mixed salad leaves, cucumber slices or grated carrot for extra crunch.
The only downside is that these are so yummy, you'll want to eat more than one, even if you're full. As a result, I had one for dinner last night and another for breakfast this morning. And if I don't talk myself out of it, I'll likely have the last one for lunch. :-p
With the way the original recipe was written, I hadn't noticed it needed fresh oregano until I was home and in the middle of making it. I was trying to decide if I should just add some dried when it suddenly occurred to me... we have three herbs growing in the front yard: rosemary, thyme... and that third one I can never remember. So, I slipped out into the cold rain and, sure enough, oregano!! I can't believe how well those three plants have done out there. I planted them on a whim several years ago and they've just flourished... even during the winter.
In other news, I finally decided to give Weight Watchers a try. I kept putting it off because, really, it's not something I haven't been able to do before on my own... before the car accident, I was down 30 pounds and still losing, but the accident and the subsequent injury recovery pretty much blew it all out of the water (not being able to exercise and, for a few months, not being able to even prepare my own food, really made it difficult). Don't worry, I won't be talking about it a whole lot here... or if I do, I'll probably put it on a filter of people I don't think will get annoyed by it. :-) On the whole, though, I'm quite pleased with how Weight Watchers Online works... the best part being that I can still *cook* (rather than just throwing ingredients together or eating pre-prepared food) and experiment.
All of that was mostly to explain how I found this absolutely divine recipe I wanted to share... I snagged it off the Australian Weight Watchers Online website (I've been haunting both that site and the UK one, gleaning them for recipe ideas). It's not something that's "good, for diet food." It's just flat-out good food.
Feta-Stuffed Lamb Burgers with Mint Yogurt Sauce
I don't know how long they leave the recipes up on that site for the public, so the link may disappear eventually. Also, I did some tweaking to Americanize ingredient names and measurements, and to correct some of the problems in the way the recipe was written.
WW POINTS: 5
(ETA: Oops! That's 5.5 with the yogurt sauce)
Servings: 4
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 shallot segment, peeled, thinly sliced and coarsely chopped
2 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs sherry vinegar
60 g low-fat feta cheese, crumbled (about 2 oz, if you don't have a metric scale)
1 egg white
For the yogurt sauce:
185 g low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt (about 6.5 ounces)
3 tbs fresh mint, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Topping:
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 medium onion, (Spanish), thinly sliced
1/2 whole yellow or red bell pepper, deseeded, thinly sliced
Mix lamb, shallots, 2 cloves garlic, fresh oregano, parsley, lemon zest, cumin and vinegar until thoroughly combined (I just used my hands). Season well with salt and pepper. Add feta and egg white and mix to combine. Shape lamb mixture into 4 patties. Place on a plate, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook without moving for 3-5 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Repeat with remaining burgers if they do not all fit on grill pan at once.
To make yogurt sauce: place yogurt, mint and remaining garlic in a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
To assemble burgers, either slice each pita in half horizontally or just use two whole pitas if they are small enough (the ones we got from Trader Joe's worked well that way and are only 2 Points for the two of them). Place a burger on one half and spoon over 2 tablespoons of yogurt sauce. Top with tomato, onion and bell pepper and remaining pita. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes:
The patty mixture can be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container in fridge. Any leftover cooked patties can be stored in fridge for 1-2 days and reheated in microwave. Add some mixed salad leaves, cucumber slices or grated carrot for extra crunch.
The only downside is that these are so yummy, you'll want to eat more than one, even if you're full. As a result, I had one for dinner last night and another for breakfast this morning. And if I don't talk myself out of it, I'll likely have the last one for lunch. :-p
With the way the original recipe was written, I hadn't noticed it needed fresh oregano until I was home and in the middle of making it. I was trying to decide if I should just add some dried when it suddenly occurred to me... we have three herbs growing in the front yard: rosemary, thyme... and that third one I can never remember. So, I slipped out into the cold rain and, sure enough, oregano!! I can't believe how well those three plants have done out there. I planted them on a whim several years ago and they've just flourished... even during the winter.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-07 11:25 pm (UTC)If I could find decently-priced lamb around here, I'd be eating more of it.
I did have fun with some buffalo burger the other week, though. It's nice to enjoy a different meat taste.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-08 12:34 am (UTC)