Hands-Off Cooking

Well I just got back and resettled after a whirlwind tour of the Mid-Atlantic. I did three bookstore events, three house parties, and one radio interview in the two weeks I was there. The picture above is from Browseabout Books in Rehoboth, DE, where the staff made at least ten of my recipes for people to taste! We had a good crowd and sold quite a few books. It was fun to see family and friends and parents of friends whom I hadn't seen in a while.

And at one of the house parties, I made a bonus Hands-Off recipe that didn't make it into the book. It's a really zesty Indian-inspired lamb burger, although I made the mixture into meatballs and sauteed them until they were browned and cooked through. Even my unsuspecting 6-year-old niece liked them! I served them with the Raita (Cucumber-Dill Sauce) from the book. Here's the recipe:

Lamb Vindaloo Burgers
Hands off: 10 minutes

Vindaloo is an Indian sweet and sour stew, often made with chunks of lamb. Here, I use ground lamb, which is more available now in regular groceries than it used to be. You can certainly substitute ground beef or pork though. Serve these on toasted buns with Raita (yogurt sauce; page 17), tomato chutney, or even plain ketchup. I learned the trick of dimpling the burgers from copyediting Bob Sloan’s book Great Burgers. It helps the patties to cook evenly and prevents them from getting too rounded as they bake.

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon crushed ginger from a jar
1 teaspoon minced garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 500° F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together well the lamb, onion, curry powder, vinegar, cinnamon, salt, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Form the mixture into 4 patties, approximately 4 inches across and 3/4 inch thick. Use 2 fingers to slightly depress the middle of the patties.

3. Put the burgers on a foil-lined baking sheet with sides. Bake them for 8 minutes, until they are still slightly pink in the middle (or 10 minutes for fully cooked). Serve them immediately (although leftovers reheat well and the flavor becomes more complex), on buns with condiments.

Note: Or, form these into 1-inch meatballs and saute them, covered, over medium heat until browned and cooked through.

Have you heard of ChefsLine? It's a great online resource for home cooks. You can call a chef directly and ask food and cooking questions, sign up for a video or a class by podcast (just download it to your mp3 player), or learn how to cook like the rat in the new movie Ratatouille!

I'm one of the consulting chefs, and you can read my profile and see my menu suggestions for a great outdoor party or picnic. I'm developing a 30-minute class in Hands-Off techniques now that should be available soon. You'll learn neat tricks like cooking the pasta and sauce together for Meatballs and Marinara, and making a flavor-packed Thai Beef Curry without standing over the stove.

Or, you can book a one-on-one consultation with me by clicking the green "Schedule One-on-One" button on my profile. There's also a link to my Tandoorish Chicken--a great oven-baked chicken dish flavored with yogurt and Indian spices. It's great hot or cold.

Check it out--and tell them I sent you.