It's also a good way to use up the rest of a bundle of parsley. I normally only ever need a few sprigs of parsley, but you have to buy a whole bundle, and then it just sits in the crisper drawer and goes sad, so a pair of dishes that will use an entire bundle is a boon. The side dish that I'm calling a salad started out as a recipe for filling for grape leaves; I adapted it and added some stuff from other recipes, and am quite happy with it.
Middle Eastern Baked Eggs with Lamb
3/4 to 1 lb lamb (ground or sliced thin)
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 heaping teaspoon garam masala
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
salt & pepper
2 eggs per person
chopped cilantro (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400.
Heat a little olive oil over medium in a large, ovenable skillet.
Brown the lamb, then add the chopped onion and cook about 5 minutes.
Mix in the parsley, garam masala, tomatoes, and salt & pepper to taste and cook for four minutes.
Crack the eggs over the top and bake for 5-6 minutes (or to preferred doneness).
Sprinkle with cilantro & serve.
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Middle Eastern Parsley Salad
Salad:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
most of a bundle of parsley, chopped
3/4 cup bulgur
3-4 chopped scallions
a handful of cashews
(chopped romaine lettuce and cucumbers would probably go well in this)
To prepare the bulgur: Bring 3/4 cup bulgur and 1.5 cups water to boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes. Let cool and squeeze out excess water before adding.
Dressing:
several cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp (a couple hefty pinches) salt
lemon juice (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, which may be a bit much; I used a good long 4-second squeeze from the bottle)
1 Tbsp sumac OR substitute several hefty shakes of lemon pepper
a few shakes of ground allspice (1/4 tsp?)
a couple shakes of cinnamon (1/8 tsp?)
(a smidge of molasses might be nice)
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until smooth.
Mix together the salad ingredients, then add the dressing and mix until well-coated.
