Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Mediterranean Burgers with Zucchini

mediterranean meatballs

The Swedish term "pannbiff" is really one of the hardest ones to translate. It's ground beef, mixed with various things, and then shaped into a beef patty. But beef patties? Not a great term. And meatballs are not correct either - for me, meatballs are small and always round. So, I think I'll just call these burgers. Which is not really correct either. But hey, you get the gist of it. I hope.

This is a great weekday meal - it takes at the very most 30 minutes to put together. Probably less. Serve it with fresh pasta if you'd like, but dried will work nicely too.

Mediterranean Burgers with Zucchini
Serves 4-5

800 g ground beef
3 tbsp breadcrumbs (homemade if you've got it)
5-6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
grated peel from one lemon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
5 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
175 ml milk

1 zucchini
pasta

Mix all ingredients except for the beef, and leave to swell for a few minutes. Add the beef, and mix well but gently. Form round patties and brown them in a little bit of butter, then remove from heat.

Cut the zucchini into batons, and fry until golden, on high heat. Set aside.

Sauce:
750 ml cream - use a light option, unless you're feeling extravagant
15 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
3 tbsp capers
salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the burgers, and let them cook through. It's ok to leave them for longer, but it will only take a few minutes. Add the zucchini right before serving.

Serve with pasta boiled in plenty of salted water.

Recipe in Swedish:
Medelhavsbiffar med färsk pasta och zucchini

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In Australia you would find something very similar that are called 'rissoles'. Look up the word on Wikipedia. Your 'burgers' look delicious enough to try.