Stuck in Quarantine

Hoping everyone is staying healthy and safe while at home! In Canada, we have been stuck in self isolation for about 1 week now and it can feel like time is taking forever to go by. I know it can be scary hearing all of the news about COVID-19, but it is important that we stay healthy and practice social distancing to avoid contamination.

Being stuck at home day in and day out can be very tiresome and boring! With school moving to an online format for the rest of the semester and little activities to do outside of the house it is a wonderful time to revamp. Cooking is an activity that you can do yourself or with those quarantined with you to engage in something fun and take your mind off some of the scary news. Cooking is a way to explore new recipes, foods, and improve creativity in the kitchen.

With food becoming harder to get, it is important that we are not wasting anything. Reusing leftovers in a new and exciting way can help spread a meal into two meals without feeling repetitive.

Lamb Kofta’s are ground lamb with herbs and spices that are cooked on a stick or skewer over a fire (or in my case the BBQ). They are protein packed & offer many vitamins and minerals from the flavourings that often go into them. As well, koftas are a good source of vitamin B12 & iron which help keep the blood healthy. One benefit of kofta’s too is that they pair perfectly with lots of fruits and vegetables (this helps increase our vitamin content in the dishes!)

Picture 1: Lamb Kofta with grilled vegetables

This recipe is simple and hearty. Simply grill the kofta skewers and a chopped medley of vegetables on the BBQ for about 12 minutes and you have a dinner. I chose to grill mushrooms, onions, peppers, eggplant, and sweet potato. Each diced into about 1 inch cubes. I dressed the vegetables in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil & balsamic vinegar. I also choose to add about 1tsp of dried oregano, basil, and salt to the vegetables to enhance their flavours.

*One trick I love sharing is how I prepared the eggplant. Eggplant has a high moisture content which means it tends to become soggy through the cooking process. However, fear not, if you use this trick it can help draw the moisture out to give a better final taste. — Slice the eggplant into whatever shape you would like (I did long strips ~1cm thick). On a baking tray lined with paper towel, place the eggplant on the paper towel and salt, heavily (don’t worry you wipe this off so it does not become too salty). Once all the eggplant is laid out on a single layer, cover it with more paper towel & place a baking tray on top, pressing the eggplant together. Leave this for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the baking tray and top paper towel, and wipe the eggplant pieces. Cut the eggplant into the desired final shape & cook off!

Picture 2: Fattoush Salad

Fattoush salad is a middle eastern salad often made with lots of fresh vegetables and proteins. My take on fattoush salad meant using leftovers as the protein and using whatever vegetables we had in the house. My salad had the leftover lamb koftas, which i reheated for about 5 minutes in a pan, romaine lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, quinoa, and a touch of feta. I then topped the salad with some tzatziki (a naturally pairing to koftas) and a sundried tomato vinaigrette. This salad was a lighter option then the previous and transformed the kofta into an entirely different flavoured meal then the previous day.

Using leftovers in a creative way can be tricky, don’t get me wrong. But when you can modify dishes to be slightly different it will help feel less repetitive and keep the original dish from getting boring!

Stay safe & inside.

Lamb Kofta
1lb ground lamb
1 egg
1tbsp worcestershire sauce
1tsp salt and pepper
2tsp cumin, chilli powder, coriander powder, smoked paprika
1/2tsp cayenne * optional
1/2cup bread crumbs
2tbsp dijon mustard

1. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Using skewers wrap the meat mixture around the skewers so they are about the thickness of a banana. *you can make them any length and size – cooking time may be modified.
3. Set aside in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour **this helps them firm up and keep their shape
4. On a preheated BBQ (~400˚F) place meat skewers on, turning them 1/4 every 3-4 minutes to get charred markings. After 12 minutes, check the meat is cooked through (there should be no pink because it is ground lamb). Let rest

Enjoy.