Lamb Stuffed Pita with Tabbouleh

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

I took the longest a road trip down to San Diego for family, sun, heat, and eats. Not a single disappointment in that department. There was talk of 80s, but it turn out much closer to 90s. It was the first time I’ve ever eaten Thanksgiving dinner outside. A novel concept, but it really could have been cooler. That’s totally fine with me.

The rest of the trip involved three burritos, four tacos, half of a plate of carne aside fries, a spinach, bacon, and egg croissant sandwich, a ham scramble, a brisket benedict on a popover, a french toast donut, jambalaya, and a pile of mussels in a blue cheese whiskey sauce and spicy lamb sausage. San Diego doesn’t have a shortage of Mexican food, that’s for sure. Two new favorite restaurants are Brabant [Belgian pub with housemade everything] and Great Maple [creative, comfort foods with that whole local/seasonal thing]. We also went to a beer tasting event at Modern Times to try a ton of their coffee stout variations [in honor of Black Friday, after all] and cold brew coffee. Two of my favorite things. We were given 10 tickets for five ounce tastes, which was more than enough for rich, delicious beer. Some favorites were obvious like their Monster’s Park stout aged in rye barrels and double chocolate Black House, but after awhile my taste buds went numb and I couldn’t taste anything but liquid. Seriously good beer and coffee, though. I brought home 8oz of their rye barrel-aged sumatra manhelding beans and it’s in the process of making some cold brew. If you’re in San Diego, and love beer, I highly suggest checking them out.

Let’s talk about something that could easily be made if you’re in the luxury of good weather, like San Diego. I’m not too scared to grill in the winter, but when Portland is below freezing with the wind, I’m not to inclined. Bon Appétit posted this in their grill issue, and I’m all for a variation of the traditional burger. Lamb and middle eastern flair will get me damn near every time, too. I went all out and made up the tabbouleh while the tomatoes were still clinging to the summer season. If tomatoes aren’t to be had right now, I’d just leave them out. Tabbouleh is better without tomatoes than with mediocre ones. You deserve better than that.

It’s a nice refreshing salad [herbs!] to compliment that burger. When the burger cooks within the pita, it soaks up all the juice and still retains a nice crunch. It also saves the time to toast a bun, which means I’m less likely to burn it. I’m a notorious bun burner. I’m end up busy with something else and leave it just a little too long.

Inspiration: Bon Appétit – Lamb Burger & Tabbouleh

Ingredients

• 1 1/4lbs ground lamb
• 4 pita pockets
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the grill
• 1/2 cup dried bulgur
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped mint
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Preparation

In a bowl, mix together the lamb, small diced onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, teaspoons salt and pepper, and two tablespoons of olive oil until well combined. Cover and chill for about an hour.

While the lamb chills, make the tabbouleh. Put the bulgur in a pot with 3/4 cup boiling water and let it soak until the water is absorbed and the bulgur is soft. Toss the bulgur and the rest of the ingredients through the mint until evenly mixed.

Oil the grate of your grill and turn on to a medium heat. Slice the pitas around half of the edge so you can open it up. Stuff equal amounts of the lamb mixture into each pita. Use your hands to flatten the burger out from within. Grill the pitas for about 5 minutes on each side.

Toss the tabbouleh with the olive oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes before serving. Taste for salt.