Middle Eastern Burgers

Latest Review: "Middle eastern don't cook meat with pru ...more"

Provided by Eating Well

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Prep:
Cook:
Ready in: 40 mins

Serves:

Ingredients

1/3 cup bulgur (see Ingredient note)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water, divided
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 small)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup pitted prunes, finely chopped (2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
12 ounces lean ground beef
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 small whole-wheat pita breads

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat grill.

2. Combine bulgur with 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl; let soak until the bulgur is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until the onion softens, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and prunes; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Don't let the garlic burn. Stir in cumin, coriander and allspice; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add remaining 2 tablespoons water; cook until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

4. Combine beef, egg, salt, pepper, the onion-prune mixture and the bulgur in a mixing bowl; mix thoroughly. Shape into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.

5. Lightly oil the grill rack (hold a piece of oil-soaked paper towel with tongs and rub it over the grate). Grill the burgers over medium heat, turning once, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Warm pitas on the grill, if desired. Serve the burgers with the pitas.

Ingredient Note: Fiber-rich bulgur is made from whole-wheat kernels that are precooked, dried and cracked. You can find it in natural-foods stores and large markets.

Nutritional Information per Serving

calories 339 carbohydrates 36 fat 12 saturated fat 4 mono unsaturated fat 5 protein 24 cholesterol 108 fiber 6 potassium 527

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This recipe has been added to the following public cookbooks:
GARY'S FAVORITES, billys notable cooking, Burgers Cook Book, ellen's All occassions, Daddy Bill's favorites

Recent Reviews

Recent Reviews
Rating	Submitted by	Comment Summary
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆	hss0310 05/31/08 12:14 PM	Middle eastern burgers Middle eastern don't cook meat with prunes , who is it that came up with this recipe??? and called it middle eastern ??, you need to check with some Lebanese cooks first ??
★ ★ ★ ★ ★	JesGonzalez 07/01/07 12:00 AM	simple middle eastern garlic yogurt recipe Yogurt Garlic Sauce 1 cup plain yogurt 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/2 teaspoon dried mint, crushed 1/2 teaspoon dried dill, crushed Mix all ingredients together. Chill for at least one hour to let flavors blend. here is the link, with some other versions of the recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/130297
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆	Sugar JT 07/01/07 12:00 AM	Lebanese hamburgers And who say's what you been eating all your life is a Hamburger. As for sharing the recipe! Maybe you know most people will be saying the same thing about your recipe. .... "who made this Up" But Hey it's all good if you like it. Enjoy!
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆	Gulfwaters1G 07/01/07 12:00 AM	Prunes ??? I would recommend that if you want to call this a middle east burger that you eliminate the prunes, equal portions of ground beef and ground lamb, and add fine chopped fresh mint to your seasoning mixture. I believe this would yield the Arabic - -Middle Eastern flavor to an American classic. flavor.
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆	Mayree522 05/30/07 12:00 AM	who made this up? it's not like the Lebanese hamburgers I've been eating all my life, too bad I wont share my recipe.