BURGHUL AND POTATO CAKES WITH LAMB AND APRICOT FILLING
SERVES: 6
4 potatoes, about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) in total, scrubbed
130 g (4½ oz/¾ cup) fine burghul (bulgur)
35 g (1¼ oz/¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 egg, beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
oil, for deep-frying
Lamb and apricot filling
40 g (1½ oz) ghee, or 2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) finely minced (ground) lamb
40 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) chopped almonds
90 g (3 oz/½ cup) chopped dried apricots
½ teaspoon Baharat, optional
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Boil the potatoes in their jackets until tender. Drain, allow to cool, then remove the skins. Place in a mixing bowl and mash.
Meanwhile, place the burghul in a bowl and cover with 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) cold water. Soak for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract the moisture.
Add the burghul to the potato, along with the flour and egg. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly to a paste. Moisten your hands and shape tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Set aside.
To make the filling, heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until translucent. Increase the heat, add the lamb and cook over high heat, stirring often, until the lamb is crumbly and begins to brown.
Reduce the heat to low, stir in the remaining filling ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and cool a little.
Flatten a ball of the potato mixture in the palm of your hand and place a generous teaspoon of filling in the centre. Close up the potato mixture and reshape into a ball, then flatten to a thick cake. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Heat approximately 10 cm (4 inches) of oil in a saucepan to (180°C/356°F) or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Deep-fry the cakes six at a time for 7–8 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.
Recipe posted by Corne Liebenberg
