Over the past year when we had to find joy and comfort in home, I feel I became so much clearer about my priorities. It was a time for meditating on what I truly yearned for and found joy in, and what I really didn’t want to return to. Travel came up a lot for me. I dreamed of faraway places and new landscapes – some new exotic sensory experience! Big surprise, I travel on my stomach and the food I eat becomes a very important part of how I remember my travels.
These recipes are my attempts to recreate some lovely memories of Morocco. Ten years ago, we went for a whirlwind trip with some of our favorite people and were enchanted. This Burger and carrot salad is based on a lunch I had at the gorgeous Kasbah Tamadot in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The beet salad is a more recent recipe, a humble nod to the scrumptious beet and citrus salad we had at Workshop Kitchen and Bar in Palm Springs last month. If you are going to be traveling there, everything they create is an absolute treat.
I use brioche buns for the burger, but good pitas or flat bread work, as well as a lettuce wrap. You can also carefully grill the burgers. This would be a pretty and simple menu for spring casual entertaining.
Recipe
Atlas Lamb Burgers
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb. ground lamb, or grass-fed ground beef
- ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ tsp each: granulated garlic powder, fennel seeds, ground coriander, cumin, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger
- 1 egg
- 4 oz feta cheese
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup pine nuts or shelled pistachios
- Big pinch of salt to taste
- Brioche burger buns
- Thinly sliced tomato, cucumber slices, arugula
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, carefully mix the ingredients from the lamb to the egg. When thoroughly mixe, cover and refrigerate 1-24 hours.
- In a food processor, blend feta, mint, olive oil, lemon Juice, and nuts into a lumpy spread. You may add a bit more olive oil or even water, by the tablespoon, if you are having trouble getting it all viscous enough to blend up.
- Preheat oven to 400. Make 4 equal patties.
- In an ovenproof pan, sear burgers 2-3 minutes on each side. Put pan in oven to finish them for 5 minutes.
- Serve with brioche buns, generously slathered with the feta spread. Top as you want with tomato, cucumber and arugula.
Recipe
Orange Carrot Slaw
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups shredded carrots
- ⅛ cup currents
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
- Juice of ½ orange
- Zest of 1 orange
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 heaping pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fold all ingredients together and set aside until serving. Can last 2 days.
Recipe
Ras El Hanout Beet Salad
CITRUS DRESSING INGREDIENTS
- Juice and zest from 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk all ingredients together and set aside
SALAD INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups roasted red or yellow beets, cut into 2½” bite size pieces
- 2-3 loose cups arugula
- ⅓ cup dates, chopped
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced kumquats or orange segments
- ¼ cup shaved red onion
- 4 oz of crumbled plain goat cheese
- ¼ cup julienned mint leaves
RAS EL HANOUT NUTS INGREDIENTS
You are making a bit more then you need, for snacking, of course…- 1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
- 3 tbsp maple or agave syrup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ras el hanout spice mix
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- Generous pinch of sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350. Prep an oven sheet with either a silpat or a piece of parchment. Toss nuts with all ingredients. Spread onto prepared oven sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Toss and stir at 6 minutes in. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Gently break apart big pieces and store in a cool dry container up to 1 week.