Cooking
It's that time again! Is my blog burning is a virtual event created by a fellow blogger Alberto who came up with the idea of many people cooking versions on a single theme in the space of a day. There have been IMBB events on themes such as tartines, rice dishes, and cakes among other things. This time around it's Grillers Delight .
I've written about pomegranate before, but I've never actually used pomegranate syrup. I've been thinking it would be good to marinate lamb with but I only had ground lamb in the freezer. I couldn't find any recipes for ground lamb and pomegranate so I improvised. I made Middle Eastern inspired lamb kebabs and a tomato, cucumber and sumac salad.
Pomegranate syrup is pretty easy to find in markets locally and one Lebanese brand Cortas is rather inexpensive. I bought a bottle for only $1.79. It is very thick and syrupy, a rich dark color and more tangy and astringent than sweet. It's very good with lamb since lamb can be greasy and the sharp tang of the pomegranate cuts through and enhances its flavor. Lamb cooks very easily on a George Foreman grill. Because it tends to be less lean, it doesn't dry out and the pomegranate helps create a crusty caramelized surface.
The salad is a perfect thing to make when you don't want to cook, or you just don't want to heat up the kitchen. You can serve it along side the kebabs or put it in pita bread with the kebabs and a spoonful of plain yogurt.
Pomegranate Lamb Kebabs with Cucumber Salad
serves 2
Ingredients
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds of fresh pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 Tablespoon minced white or red onion
2 teaspoon pomegranate syrup
Instructions
For the kebabs
Mix all the ingredients and form 6 long flat meatballs. You can thread these onto skewers if grilling outdoors, but there is no need to if grilling on an indoor grill. Grill for several minutes until nicely browned on the outside and cooked through.
For the salad
Mix all the ingredients together and taste. If you need to you can add salt or lemon juice but if the tomatoes are flavorful you probably won't need to.
Enjoy!
- Lamb Meatballs Recipe
Nothing is more disappointing than a soggy french fry. There are lots of things I don’t just like crispy but extra crispy. Toast, onion rings, pizza crust, potato chips, breaded cutlets, pie crust, streusel. I could go on and on. And is there anything...
- Easy & Impressive--leg Of Lamb
Looking at the recipe index on this site, I realize I have only written one lamb recipe. That's a shame. I like lamb a lot. I think it's a well-kept secret that lamb is actually very easy to cook. I used to have a friend who made leg of lamb...
- Muhammara Recipe
In your cupboard or pantry do you have a bottle of pomegranate molasses? If not, why? I've already told you that it's a delicious ingredient to add to soups and sauces and the like. Do you need another recipe to convince you? Ok then. Reason...
- Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce:recipe
I can barely believe it, but my bottle of pomegranate molasses is almost empty! To think I bought it just a little over six months ago. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of it--stews, marinades, salad dressing, kebabs and now, barbecue sauce. It occurred...
- Pomegranate Syrup
Are you convinced that it's a good idea to buy pomegranate syrup yet? If not, let me tell you about what I made for dinner yesterday. Eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate molasses. The recipe is in an article written by Paula Wolfert in the...
Cooking
Pomegranate Lamb Kebabs with Cucumber Salad Recipe
It's that time again! Is my blog burning is a virtual event created by a fellow blogger Alberto who came up with the idea of many people cooking versions on a single theme in the space of a day. There have been IMBB events on themes such as tartines, rice dishes, and cakes among other things. This time around it's Grillers Delight .
I've written about pomegranate before, but I've never actually used pomegranate syrup. I've been thinking it would be good to marinate lamb with but I only had ground lamb in the freezer. I couldn't find any recipes for ground lamb and pomegranate so I improvised. I made Middle Eastern inspired lamb kebabs and a tomato, cucumber and sumac salad.
Pomegranate syrup is pretty easy to find in markets locally and one Lebanese brand Cortas is rather inexpensive. I bought a bottle for only $1.79. It is very thick and syrupy, a rich dark color and more tangy and astringent than sweet. It's very good with lamb since lamb can be greasy and the sharp tang of the pomegranate cuts through and enhances its flavor. Lamb cooks very easily on a George Foreman grill. Because it tends to be less lean, it doesn't dry out and the pomegranate helps create a crusty caramelized surface.
The salad is a perfect thing to make when you don't want to cook, or you just don't want to heat up the kitchen. You can serve it along side the kebabs or put it in pita bread with the kebabs and a spoonful of plain yogurt.
Pomegranate Lamb Kebabs with Cucumber Salad
serves 2
Ingredients
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds of fresh pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 Tablespoon minced white or red onion
2 teaspoon pomegranate syrup
Salad
1/2 English or hothouse cucumber, diced
1/4 c diced onion
1 medium tomato, diced
2 T flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 t sumac
1 T olive oil
Instructions
For the kebabs
Mix all the ingredients and form 6 long flat meatballs. You can thread these onto skewers if grilling outdoors, but there is no need to if grilling on an indoor grill. Grill for several minutes until nicely browned on the outside and cooked through.
For the salad
Mix all the ingredients together and taste. If you need to you can add salt or lemon juice but if the tomatoes are flavorful you probably won't need to.
Enjoy!
- Lamb Meatballs Recipe
Nothing is more disappointing than a soggy french fry. There are lots of things I don’t just like crispy but extra crispy. Toast, onion rings, pizza crust, potato chips, breaded cutlets, pie crust, streusel. I could go on and on. And is there anything...
- Easy & Impressive--leg Of Lamb
Looking at the recipe index on this site, I realize I have only written one lamb recipe. That's a shame. I like lamb a lot. I think it's a well-kept secret that lamb is actually very easy to cook. I used to have a friend who made leg of lamb...
- Muhammara Recipe
In your cupboard or pantry do you have a bottle of pomegranate molasses? If not, why? I've already told you that it's a delicious ingredient to add to soups and sauces and the like. Do you need another recipe to convince you? Ok then. Reason...
- Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce:recipe
I can barely believe it, but my bottle of pomegranate molasses is almost empty! To think I bought it just a little over six months ago. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of it--stews, marinades, salad dressing, kebabs and now, barbecue sauce. It occurred...
- Pomegranate Syrup
Are you convinced that it's a good idea to buy pomegranate syrup yet? If not, let me tell you about what I made for dinner yesterday. Eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate molasses. The recipe is in an article written by Paula Wolfert in the...