I am slightly disappointed with my newly-acquired cookbook Antakya – City and Cuisine.
The pictures are fabulous but the recipes leave a lot to be desired in terms of detail or rather lack of. If I were a novice cook, I would be confused.
So you have to rely on me!
Today I had some of my huge bunch of mint to use up and also one stray red pepper, the long thin kind not the bell pepper kind. I didn’t want to have to consign it to the bin.
I also wanted to make something with mince meat and I knew that many of the recipes in my new cookbook incorporated it so I had a quick flip-through.
Sure enough, there was something with all my ingredients so I thought why not? A nice new taste from Antakya.
I love using fresh local produce and this was certainly a recipe like that: lots of mint and parsley, and I mean lots, plus one red pepper! Perfect!
And I had paid a visit to my friendly local butcher so I had some lovely-looking kıyma/mince to hand.
This recipe is certainly not difficult and the result is delicious: it’s one big herby köfte!
Ingredients for Minced Beef with Mint and Parsley
Serves 4 – 6
500g/ ½ lb minced beef/dana kıyması
1 bunch parsley/maydonoz
½ bunch fresh mint/nane
1 red pepper/kırmızı biber
5 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin/kimyon
Salt and black pepper to taste
I tomato, quartered, 1 thin green pepper (optional)
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C/ 350°F.
- Roughly chop the parsley, mint, red pepper and garlic and then put in the food processor. Mix well.
- In a bowl, add to the mince meat and knead with your hands until thoroughly mixed. Add cumin and seasoning to taste.
- Oil the baking tray or round tin (approx 24 cm/ 9 -10 inches) that you are going to use and with your hands spread the meat mixture evenly in it.
- Place the quartered tomato and long thin green pepper on top of the mixture if using.
- Sprinkle a little water over the top and cook for 30 mins in the pre-heated oven.
- Serve with a pilaf of either rice or bulgur and you will have a delicious family supper.
Afiyet olsun!
this looks so good. i will be making this very soon. i can almost taste it. i will serve mine with pita and taziki!
This is my kind of dish Claudia, even your grandbabies will love it!!!
It sounds delicious and your photos of the dish are outstanding. I'll be trying this for dinner on one of the busy days ahead. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Dare I call it Antakya meat loaf? It's not so loafy but I tink it will go down a treat around here… Thanks!
Looks and sounds delicious! I always struggle with recipes that call for a "bunch" of parsley or mint or some other herb? What is a bunch? Sellers don't package in consistent size "bunches".
I'm pleased you are all as enthusiastic as I am about dishes like this one!
Bellini,I hope little grandbaby will like stuff like this too one day!! Octoberfarm, that sounds like a great combination, and Mary, thanks for yr lovely comment re the pics!
Yes,Stranger, not so loafy in shape but in spirit it is!!How was your Thanksgiving?
Michel: I was wondering if anyone would ask about bunches etc – I know exactly what you mean. I will weigh my next bunches of parsley and see if I can be a bit more precise but then, they don't weigh very much at all. This particular dish can take a lot of both parsley and mint, when it gets chopped up it really does look a whole lot less!