If you wish to try your hand at preparing a complete meal, check on my other recipes titled "Isreal Step One" and "Israel Step Two" for complimentary side dishes: Pita Bread, Tabbouleh, and Green Harissa. I have included a recipe for refreshing Israeli Salad below.
1 lb. ground beef*
*ground lamb is a beautiful alternative
Finely dice the following in a food processor:
1/2 onion, or manually finely diced
1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, or manually finely diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed and manually finely diced
1 tea. salt
1 tea. paprika
1/2 tea. ground allspice you (may substitute cinnamon)
1/2 tea. ground sumac
1/4 tea. ground cumin
OPTIONAL:
1/4 tea. red pepper
1/4 tea. lemon zest
1 Tbl. grated parmesan cheese (totally not traditional)
1 egg to bind
Grind all ingredients in a food processor to form a paste, stir fragrant paste evenly into ground meat and chill.
You can make traditional skewers by taking a handful of ground meat and squeezing it around a skewer. Be sure to chill again to set the meat onto the skewer before grilling.
Instead I prefer (for ease) to roll small meatball shapes and flatten into a small Pattie and cook on a grill pan or cast iron skillet approx. 2 minutes on each side.
Serve with a quick Israeli Salad, as follows:
Tomatoes, seeded and diced
Cucumbers, seeded and diced
Red Onion, diced
Fresh flat leaf Parsley, confetti chopped
Feta Cheese crumbles
Lemon juice
