Spiced Lamb, Dill Rice and Beetroot Salad

Sounds like a lot to make for a mid week meal doesn't it, and I made cucumber, coriander and sheep yoghurt dip to round out the flavours. It is in a way but it didn't take vast amounts of time - it was all done in less than an hour incuding about twenty minutes cooking - and the results were very good indeed.

The starting point was the dill rice. I found the recipe on a sister site to the lentils and beans site that I used last week that is entirely about rice. It examines the culinary genius of ethnic cuisines from around the world by looking at the way they use rice. It's an interesting site - I was looking for other ways to cook rice - basmati specifically - that were light and flavourful and were a dish in their own right rather than just background support. The rest of the meal flowed from that. The lamb burgers were fairly lightly spiced and the beetroot added an earthy sweetness and the cucumber yoghurt brought it all together.

I like to cook and though this was a bit more complicated than I would normally make on a Wednesday night I enjoyed the process and was well rewarded with a lovely dinner and an interesting new dish to add to my repertoire. And enough leftovers for lunch Thursday.

Spiced Lamb Burgers
500g/1 lb lean minced lamb - only use meat from a well reared animal
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tspn ground cummin
1 tspn ground coriander
1 small chili, deseeded and finely chopped
Juice from half a lime
Salt and pepper
3 tbspns ground nut oil

Mix all the ingredients except the oil, and form into patties. Put them on a plate in the fridge for 20 - 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan, and cook the patties, covered over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning half way through, till lightly crusted on the outside. Drain on kitchen paper before serving.

Beetroot Salad
2 x 250g packs of pre cooked beetroot, vacuum packed
2 tbspns walnut vinegar
1 tbspn strawberry vinegar + 1 tspn
Salt and pepper

Drain and cut the beetroot into slices about the thickness of a pound coin. Put into a bowl with the other ingredients and mix well.

This is a good stand by salad all year round. I buy prepacked beetroot at Total Organics and usually have some in the fridge. They are simply cooked and packed without vinegar or any other additives and last for about 6 months. Once the salad is made it will last for a week in the fridge. It goes very well with bbqs in summer and salads in general anytime. I have sometimes added a few drops of truffle oil to make a decadently luxurious salad but, if you do this, eat it within a couple of days as the truffle oil makes it go mouldy after this.

Dill Rice
1 cup (7oz/200) rice
3 t oil
4 cloves
½-1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1 cup of frozen green peas
salt

Soak the rice for 15 minutes. Wash well and drain.

Heat the oil in a pot and fry the cloves and chilli. Add the peas, dill and rice and saute for 1 minute. Add salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon) and one and three quarter cups boiling water. Cover and cook over a low heat for 9-10 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked. Fluff with a fork before serving.