Beef Kofta with Rice & Greek Salad
On the table in under 20 minutes, this flavourful Greek inspired dinner has elements that will appeal to everyone at the table.
Happy New Year!
It certainly feels like we just turned the millennial and with a blink...2015. Incredible.
To all my faithful readers and loyal supporters, I wish you the most blessed year ahead. I have a good feeling about this one.
And alas, it is time to do what most do in January - resolve to be better at <insert your personal mission here>. I know for me in this LAST year of my thirties - gasp - the list is lengthy.
More cooking, less eating.
More writing, less editing.
More moving, less sitting.
More action, less fear.
More doing, less research.
More discipline, less excuses.
But above all of this.... More praise, less criticism. That goes for myself and of others. Do you resolve in January?
So part of the first one - more cooking, less eating - is getting back to regular meal planning. Life is always better in this house when I do. I look at each meal as practice for a craft I love, it makes my adorable other half happy and develops what I hope to always be a very open palate in my Little one. When I am trying to cut back, carbs (the white ones especially) are usually the first to go in my diet. So I love meals like this - everyone can help themselves to what they want and I am not cooking three different meals.
For this dinner of beef kofta with rice & Greek salad, start the rice straight away. Oh, and this little nugget of information will save you so much time. Instead of adding tap water to your rice, boil your kettle and add that water. A kettle boils WAY faster than a stove top and gets the rice going that much quicker. I threw in a half a lemon with this rice and tossed it with some mint. The lean grass-fed beef is seasoned generously with garam marsala and sizzles away while you rough chop a head of lettuce in halves or quarters. To give a Greek feel in a hurry, I grated some cukes and red onion to sprinkle on the butter leaves along with a few tomatoes, some feta and a splatter of plain, full fat greek yogurt. Everything on a board with some store-bought whole wheat pitas and ta-da (sometimes I actually say this)... dinner.
I'm happy I can dodge some carbs & and just do meat and veg. Little is happy he can avoid all that is evil about lettuce to him. And Mister is happy to get my pita and Littles lettuce. You will see more family style meals coming this year from me, I would love to hear how your family responded.
Happy New Year!
Beef Kofta with Rice & Greek Salad
Author: Food Well Said
On the table in under 20 minutes, this flavourful Greek inspired dinner has elements that will appeal to everyone at the table.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of basmati rice
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1lb grass fed lean ground beef
- 1 heaping tablespoon garam marsala
- 1- 2 heads of butter lettuce
- 1/2 red onion, grated, squeezed dry
- 1 medium cucumber, grated, squeezed dry
- 1 cup of grape tomatoes
- 1 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons plain, full fat Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons of pistachios
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 whole wheat pitas, halved.
- 1 small bunch of fresh mint, chopped
Instructions
- Bring two cups of water to a boil in a kettle. Add rice to heavy pot, and when kettle is boiling, add water to rice, throw in two quarters of the lemon. Stir, turn to low-med heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes. (or as per package instructions)
- Generously season beef with garam marsala, salt and pepper. Wet hands and divide the beef in half, then in halves again, then one more time until you have eight pieces. Roll into cigars and slightly flatten. Drop into hot skillet.
- Take butter lettuce and half or quarter depending on size. Place on board. Top with grated onion and cucumber, tomatoes, feta and yogurt. Squeeze another quartered lemon over the lettuce.
- Bash up the pistachios and toss in with the beef toward the end of cooking. Drizzle honey over beef at same time and toss around so it gets sticky and caramelized.
- When rice is done, remove lemon. Add mint and combine.
- To present, put all components on a large serving board and enjoy!
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