Shami
Herb and meat patties
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound beef, chuck roast or round
- 2 onions, quartered
- 2 1/2 cups water, adjust as necessary
- 2 bunches fresh parsley, the tougher end of the stems removed
- 2 bunches fresh cilantro, the tougher end of the stems removed
- 8 green onions, or about 1/2 cup green Nira
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, ground
- 1 cup walnuts, ground
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil, adust as needed for fying
Instructions
- Place the beef, onions and water in a large pot and bring to a gentle boil.
- Simmer on low heat, covered, for 1 hour.
- Add the herbs, 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper and turmeric, and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
- At this point, there should not be a substantial amount of liquid left in the pot.
- Using a colander, strain the mixture and press lightly to extract as much moisture as you can so that the meat mixture is not too wet. Set aside.
- Place the walnuts in the food processor and pulse until you have a fine ground. Remove and place in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Place the meat and herbs mixture in batches in the food processor and pulse until you have a roughly ground meat texture. Take extra care to not over process while also making sure there are no pieces of herbs or chunks of beef visible.
- Remove and add to the ground walnuts in the mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the eggs, and mix well with your hands.
- Begin forming the meat patties by removing roughly 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture and rolling them into a ball. Using the palm of your hand, press the ball down to form a patty that is no thicker than 1/2 inch.
- Using your finger, push a hole through the center of the patty to create a patty that resembles a bagel. Continue until all the patties have been properly formed.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to fry the patties about 4 minutes on each side.
- Remove from the pan and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil. Repeat until all the patties have been fried.
- Shami is served with Persian steamed rice or flatbreads, along with a platter of fresh herbs and a side of yogurt.
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