Minced meat with pine kernels, flavoured with cumin and allspice, is served with salad in this easy Eastern-style dish.
ingredients
serves: 4
3/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
1 pound 2 ounce lean minced beef or lamb
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
8 ounce canned chopped tomatoes
A bunch of cilantro
1 cucumber
1/2 crisp lettuce
To serve:
7/8 cup soured cream
8 soft flour tortillas or pitta breads
method
1. Preheat the oven to warm the bread. Dry-fry the pine kernels in a large skillet, shaking the pan and stirring the kernels frequently until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Add the olive oil to the pan and heat slowly Halve, peel and chop the onion, then fry over a moderate heat for 3 minutes, or until it has softened. Add the meat and fry it until brown, stirring to break up any lumps. Then stir in the cumin, allspice and tomatoes and their juice and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Rinse, dry and chop enough cilantro to give 4 tablespoons and set aside. Rinse, dry and chop the cucumber; rinse, dry and shred the lettuce. Place them in separate serving bowls. Put the bread into the oven to warm.
4. When the meat is cooked, stir in the cilantro and pine kernels, heat through for a minute or two, then transfer to a serving bowl. Put the bread into a napkin-lined serving basket to keep it hot.
5 At the table, each diner takes a tortilla, places a spoonful of meat in the centre, tops it with lettuce, cucumber and some soured cream, then rolls it up, holds it in the fingers and eats it. If using pitta breads, make a slit in one side of each and spoon the meat and salad into the pocket.
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more information
If you use pitta bread instead of tortillas, make a pocket for the filling by cutting a slit in the side of the warm bread. Place a spoonful of the meat
mixture inside, then stuff with shredded lettuce and chopped cucumber. Top the salad with a spoonful of soured cream and eat with the fingers.
