Crazy for Cumin

     Cumin is one of my favorite spices and it is an important flavor in one of my seldom-made comfort foods, my mother-in-law's empanadas.  My mother-in-law lived most of her life in northwest Argentina where a regional specialty is beef-filled empanadas flavored with cumin and raisin.  The fillings used in empanadas are as varied as the many Hispanic cultures and the flavors used in my mother-in-law's recipe were influenced by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Argentina and are my favorite.  
     Sadly, the pastry used to make empanadas is too Points pricey these days so I came up with a burger with a similar flavor profile that has a smaller Points price with big bucks flavor.  I usually cook these on my outdoor grill but have successfully used a grill pan on my cook top, too.  In my mind these are not hamburgers so I have never served these burgers on buns but with a side of couscous since half of the onion-seasoning mixture I cook up for the burgers goes into the couscous!   


Empanada-Style Burgers with Cauli-Couscous

Seasoning Ingredients and Preparation

• An onion (I use sweet), finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon olive or oil of your choice
• 2 teaspoons light (or regular) butter
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat oil and butter in a medium saute pan.  Add onion and raisins, sprinkle on salt and crushed red and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and remaining spices, stir for an additional minute or two.  Stir in parsley, remove from heat and allow to cool.


Burger Ingredients and Preparation

• 3/4 pound 95-96% lean ground beef
• 1/4 pound very lean ground pork
• Approximately half of the cooked onion-raisin mixture
• Olive oil spray
  

In a large bowl, using your hands, combine meats and allotted cooked mixture.  Try not to overwork the mixture.  Form into burgers (I usually make 3 or 4), spritz with olive oil spray on each side and grill or cook.  I cook on my preheated gas grill (between 350-400 F) about 4-6 minutes on first side and 3 -5 minutes on second side (I cook these to medium to medium-well).

Cauli-Couscous Ingredients and Preparation

• 1/2 cup couscous (I used  regular, not whole wheat, for 1 less Point per 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 medium-sized head of cauliflower
• Approximately half of the cooked onion-raisin mixture

Rinse the cauliflower and remove any woody ends.  Using the large grate side of a box grater, grate the cauliflower (I place the grater in a large bowl to keep the bits from flying about).  The floret's grate into couscous-looking pieces, the stems end up a bit bigger.  Return the pan with the onion-raisin mixture to the heat, having pushed the already cooked mixture to the edges.  Add the grated cauliflower (1 to 2 cups) and a few tablespoons of water to the pan, cover and cook on medium low for a few minutes.  Cook the couscous according to directions (my brand says to bring 1/2 cup water to boil, stir in 1/2 cup couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes).  Stir the cauliflower and onion-raisin mixture, taste for doneness and seasoning.  If to your liking, stir in the cooked and fluffed (just use a fork after the 5 minute wait) couscous and it's ready to serve. 
     
     I think you'll agree that the the cauliflower couscous mixture looks pretty much like, well,  couscous!  But I hope you'll discover for yourself that it has a nicer mouth feel and a sweet, nutty flavor due to the cauliflower.  The burger gets a nice caramelization and moistness from the onion-raisin addition and it reminds me of my favorite empanadas and my wonderful mother-in-law!

Empanada Burgers and Cauliflower-CousCous, inspired by my mother-in-law

Just a note to fellow Weight Watchers:  The leaness of the ground pork makes a huge point difference.  I personally love a beef-pork mix but I have also tried beef-lamb (not a lamb fan, sadly), beef-turkey, beef-veal and all beef.  For this recipe (with four servings) a burger and approximately a generous cup of cauli-couscous would cost you 8 Points, according to my Recipe Builder.

A New Dark Leafy Green For Me...

I enjoy eating a large variety of fruits and veg.  Okay, maybe a little heavier on the fruits... With most of these fruits and veggies being zero points if eaten raw and very low points if cooked (plus low in carbs for my Type I diabetic husband), I needed to up our consumption, especially of those dark leafy greens. After watching "Ten Dollar Dinners" I got inspired by Melissa's kale salad (after all, I had already made her kale chips) so that was my jumping off point for my Kale Slaw recipe - hope you give it a try!

  
 Kale Slaw 

     Salad Ingredients

• A bunch of kale
• A large carrot
• A crisp, sweet apple
• An orange
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

      




Dressing Ingredients

• A silverware teaspoonful of Dijon mustard
• A tablespoon of honey
• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (I like a 1:2 ratio of sweet to sour)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (adjust the spices to your liking)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
•  Few grinds of black pepper

Putting it Together

     Wash, trim and de-rib your kale (curly or leafy).  After making this salad a few times I found my favorite and the easiest way to remove those hard, tough ribs - I fold a leaf inward onto itself like a heart half and just tear up and away from the rib.  Stack the leaves on your cutting board and cut through the stack, making them into strips and place in a large bowl. 

     Zest the orange right over the leaves in the bowl (I find it easier to zest a whole fruit so I halve it after).  Now I halve the orange, juice one half and pour it over the kale.  Sprinkle over a quarter teaspoon of salt and toss so the leaves can mellow a bit while you continue with the ingredient prep. 
     Scrub the carrot, wash and trim the apple then place your box grater right in the salad bowl and shred them using the large grate.  Whisk up the dressing ingredients in a small bowl - taste it!  Adjust if necessary and pour over salad. Stir/toss to combine, cover and chill. This salad is so tangy, a bit sweet and spicy and though it has no oil, the shredded apple and carrot absorb the dressing so every bite is well-flavored. 
     Now that I've made this salad a number of times (and still love it!) I've tried a few variations:  Substituting a lemon for the orange; a firm pear when I had no apple; Swiss chard when I couldn't find kale - and they were all delicious.  Let me know what you come up with!

Just a note to my fellow Weight Watchers: I have plugged this slaw into Recipe Builder and it equaled 13 Points though the only ingredient that showed points was the honey at 2 Points for 1Tblsp.  At 6 servings that would be 2 points per serving.  The majority of fruit and veg are in their "natural" state but for the orange so I leave it up to you, dear eaters, how to value it.  My husband with Type I diabetes doesn't need to count veggie carbs so this makes for a healthy salad choice for both of us!