Around The World in 52 Weeks: Sarma

Though sarma is traditionally a Serbian dish, Montenegro, my county for the week borders Serbia. Food in Montenegro has both Italian and Serbian influences. These wraps can be made using grape leaves, chard leaves, or cabbage leaves. I opted for the cabbage as I had one in my refrigerator and it didn’t require a trip to a specialty store (as the grape leaves would have.)

The only thing I regret about this dish was not having started it earlier. It takes three hours to cook, so starting dinner at 6PM was just a dumb idea on my part. When dinner was finally read around 9PM I indulged in these delicious wraps. The sauerkraut made them the perfect amount of bitter. I would definitely make these again.

Sarma
(source)

Ingredients
1 head cabbage
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 lb ground pork
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 egg
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can sauerkraut
1 cup tomato sauce
water, as needed

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine the meat, rice, onion, egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Form meat mixture into oblong balls, about 1/2 cup of meat each. Wrap each ball with a cabbage leaf.

2. Spread the sauerkraut on the bottom of a pan. Place the cabbage rolls, seam side down, on top of the sauerkraut. Pour tomato sauce on top and then add enough water so that the cabbage rolls are completely covered.

3. Bring the liquid to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, allowing to simmer. Simmer for 3 hours.

* serves 3
* Shared with KB and Whitesnakes’s Simply Delish Saturdays.

I’d like to see people travel the globe with me.
Every Saturday I will be posting my recipe, as well as pictures to ethnic cuisines you have made and want to share.

- You must mention The Law Student’s Cookbook‘s Around The World In 52 Weeks in the entry you link. You can either use a link or use the banner.
- In your post you must  at least mention what cuisine the dish is.
- Email me your recipe at elizabeth@crabtech.net. Make sure to include:

* Your name or blog name
* The direct link to your post
* A picture of the dish or permission to pull a picture from the post

- Make sure to email me by Saturday at 12noon Pacific Standard Time
- If you enter a recipe you will be automatically entered into my current giveaway.

Rosemary Turkey Meatloaf

When I was growing up I hated meatloaf. There was something that I couldn’t stand about the texture of meat all pushed together. I don’t really know why this texture bothered me so much, but it was to the point where I didn’t like meatballs or hamburgers either. What a strange childhood, disliking some really common foods that kids love.

In my adult life I’ve grown to appreciate hamburgers, though they’re still not my favorite food. But of meatballs, hamburgers, and meatloaf, meatloaf still stays on the bottom of the list. My boyfriend on the other hand is a meatloaf FIEND. He could eat meatloaf forever. I think he’s just made of meatloaf or something.

To make some compromises, I have experimented with different flavors in the meatloaf – to make something palatable to me and something that he devours. This meatloaf was a pretty good loaf. The turkey, rosemary, and balsamic vinegar flavors aren’t those that are typically prevalent in meatloaves. They definitely make the standard meatloaf something a little classier!

Rosemary Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cups bread crumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 baking dish.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg, milk, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Mix together with your hands. Press the meat mixture into your prepared baking dish. Mix together the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, and mustard. Pour evenly over the top of your meatloaf.

3. Bake for 1 hour.

* serves 8
* 357 calories per slice
* This post is being shared with Bakes with Bizzy. 

Asian Turkey Meatballs

This winter break has made me incredibly lazy. I feel off my game lately. Not going to school or work has allowed me time to actually feel tired. When I’m super busy, I just keep going and I don’t realize how tired I am almost all of the time. When I finally have the time to take a break from my day-to-day and get a day or two (or two weeks) off, I feel so tired the entire time and don’t end up being productive or getting anything done. I need to take like.. a month off or something to get caught up, because as soon as I finally get past this tired spell, school’s just going to start again.

I need time to rest and then I need time to get stuff done that doesn’t involve work and school.

Needless to say, I’ve been eating out a lot. But here’s one dish I actually made!

Asian Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients
2 tbsp bread crumbs
10 oz lean ground turkey
1/2 tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500.

2. Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl using your hands. Form the turkey mixture into ping pong size balls. Spray a baking sheet with Pam and place the meatballs on the sheet.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

* serves 2
* about 4 meatballs per serving
* 246 calories per serving
* I served it over rice, but the calories for the rice are not included.

 

 

Chickpea and Turkey Curry over Curried Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I feel like I need to sing and dance for sweet potatoes. They just never can do me no wrong.

For some reason I was always terrified of sweet potatoes growing up. I think it was because I could only think of that sickeningly sweet casserole with marshmallows and stuff on it. I know a lot of people love that stuff, but the thought of it to me is repulsive. That of course made sweet potatoes in any form repulsive, because that’s how my mind used to work.

But then I tried them in a different form and my life was changed.

This recipe is a chickpeas and ground turkey. I served it over curried sweet potatoes, a recipe I have made before and will make over and over again.

The first night it tasted delicious, but I think it tasted even better as leftovers the next day.

Chickpea and Turkey Curry

Ingredients
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 can petite diced tomatoes
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp garlic chili sauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dry red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey with the garlic and onion in the oil until the turkey is no longer pink.

2. Stir in the garbanzo beans, tomato, curry powder, chili sauce, and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

* serves 3
* 367 calories per serving

 

Bierocks

I love German food. But I know that every time I make some sort of food that is “ethnic” in the least, my food does not compare to whatever cuisine it is that I’m cooking. But that doesn’t stop me, because even though I’m sure these dishes are inherently “wrong,” they still force me to use flavor combinations I otherwise never would have known about or thought to try.

With that being said, there isn’t anything that intriguing about ground turkey and cabbage together, except that it tastes good. But I mean, there isn’t any exciting new flavor combination that I have never heard of before or anything.

BUT in this meal you stuff the yummies inside of bread and bake it!

Baking bread is actually one of my favorite things ever. I find the process to be so stress relieving. The kneading, the punching, seeing the dough slowly rise.. The whole process is so good to me and can make a bad day feel better. On top of that, the smell of freshly cooked bread is to die for and can make my stressed out self feel content with life.

Law school should definitely be leading to a ton of baked bread. I need to get on it.
I will be making this dish again, that’s for sure. I could stuff it with just about anything.

-edit- It turns out Cooking Light misled me! These aren’t exactly German, but rather, are German-inspired.

Bierocks

Ingredients

FILLING:
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt

DOUGH:
1/4 cup sugar
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour, divided

1. To prepare the filling cook the onion and turkey over medium-high heat until the turkey is browned. Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts. Stir in pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and set aside.

2. To prepare the dough let the sugar and yeast dissolve in the warm water in a large bowl for 5 minutes. Stir in milk, oil, the rest of the salt, and eggs. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Add 3 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture and stir to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. If necessary, add the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for an hour. The dough should have doubled in size. Punch the dough down. Cover and let rise for 5 more minutes.

4. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 10 1/2 x 7 inch square. Cut each rectangle into 6 smaller rectangles. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling into the center of each smaller rectangle. Bring 2 opposite corners to the center, pinching the points to seal.  Pinch all four edges together to seal. Place the bierocks seam-side down on a large baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375.

6. Uncover bierocks. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, until browned on the bottom.

* serves 12
* 3 bierocks per serving
* 276 calories per serving

Turkey and Mushroom Sloppy Joes and a Review

I recently won a giveaway over at the Crazy Cooking Couple. I typically don’t enter giveaways (though this win might change that!), but I was intrigued by the prize in this challenge. The Crazy Cooking Couple was giving away several varieties of Brad’s Raw Chips. The flavor I got was the Leafy Kale Vampire Killer. Basically, it was pieces of kale, that some process was done to them to get them crispy coated with a soy cheese substitute and garlic. They definitely weren’t the same as potato chips and I don’t know if they could satisfy my potato chip cravings, however, they definitely were yummy. I’d actually like to try some of the other variations of Brad’s Raw Chips. For example, there’s a sweet potato chip, a red bell pepper chip, and a sun dried tomato chip. I actually think one of those may be more suitable for craving a “chip” craving than pieces of greenery. However, it wasn’t until this moment that I have consciously eaten kale and it was good.

I received the kale chips last Tuesday and decided to serve them with my sloppy joe lunch.

Turkey and Mushroom Sloppy Joes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz ground turkey
16 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Sriacha sauce
4 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Heat a skillet over medium-heat. Add oil and swirl to coat. Add the turkey, cooking for 4 minutes, until brown. Stir to crumble.

2. While the meat cooks, place the mushrooms in a food processor. Pulse 10 times, or until finely chopped. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the pan with the turkey. Cook for 3 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the tomato paste, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has began to evaporate.

3. Stir in the ground black pepper and Sriacha. Spoon 1/4 of the meat mixture onto each bun.

* makes 4 sloppy joes
* 374 calories per joe

* This sandwich will be entered at Kahakai Kitchen’s Souper Sundays!