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Nur Hallaj Meatloaf

Started by Aerlys, November 12, 2013, 10:49:17 PM

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Aerlys

 :D

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks now, before autumn passes us by. I got this recipe idea from a firefighter who makes this every autumn for the guys at his station. Since I cook like my great-grandmother (a little of this, a bit of that), this is a little vague, but here it is:

1.5 to 2 lbs of ground beef, made into your favorite meatloaf recipe
One turban squash (hence the name!  :) )

A turban squash looks like this:




I usually find them at a local farmer's market or farm/pumpkin patch each year.

To prepare the squash, remove the round part that looks like a ball, since that is where the seeds are. You will be left with the bottom portion that looks like a bowl. Poke the inside and outside several times with a fork, and salt the inside. Put your raw meatloaf mixture in your squash bowl. Place this in a shallow baking dish or pan, and bake at 400 degrees for about an hour to an hour and a half until the meatloaf is cooked and the squash is tender. It might be necessary to cover the meatloaf with foil for the second half of the baking time to prevent the outside from burning before the inside is fully cooked.

This year, we used two squashes to feed our meatloaf-crazy crew. DS2 prepared them for me (he's quite the chef!). One squash was smaller than the other, and held less meat (we probably used about 4 or 5 lbs of meat between the two). That one cooked much faster. Unfortunately, our oven's thermostat is malfunctioning, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the bake time. We make this every year, served with mashed potatoes. The juice from the meatloaf flavors the squash nicely.

Hope you can find a turban squash so you can give it a try. Enjoy!




"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Evie

I've never seen a turban squash.  It's very pretty!
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

DesertRose

You could make it a little more Mediterranean in flavor by seasoning the meat as you would kofta rather than meatloaf.

Kofta with Tomatoes and Potatoes

2 lb minced meat (ground sirloin works best but lean ground beef is fine too)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 tsp allspice
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large potatoes, quartered then sliced thinly
2 large tomatoes, quartered and sliced
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp veg. Oil  (I use light olive oil)

Mix first six ingredients together with hands until well blended.  Press into a ½" layer in the bottom of a 13x9 glass baking dish.

Mix the potatoes and tomatoes in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Add the lemon juice and 1/2 cup water and mix well.

Pour the potato and tomato mixture on top of the kofta and drizzle the oil on top.  Cover it with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are done as it takes the longest to cook.  Remove the aluminum foil and turn the broiler on in the oven to bake until the potatoes are golden.


Hmm.  I wonder how that would taste baked in a turban squash rather than a baking dish?  Might have to try that soon.  :D  Thanks for the idea, Aerlys.
"If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."

James Herriot (James Alfred "Alfie" Wight), when a human client asked him if animals have souls.  (I don't remember in which book the story originally appeared.)

Laurna

Yumm!
You're both making me want to cook. Something I don't do very often.
May your horses have wings and fly!

Aerlys

Oooh, DR, that sounds good! Think I'll try that this week. Thanks for the recipe!
"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

DesertRose

I got that recipe for kofta somewhere online, but when I was in college (uni for y'all across the Pond), I dated a Palestinian guy who cooked it for me.  IIRC, he cooked it for my birthday because he knew it was my favorite of his recipes, and like a dipstick, I never got the recipe from him, but that one's pretty close.

Tabbouleh goes well with it, BTW. 
My (almost famous) recipe follows.  :)

½ cup fine bulgur
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup boiling water
2 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (about 3 bunches)
½ cup finely chopped mint
2 medium tomatoes, cut into ¼" pieces
½ cucumber, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼" pieces
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper


Stir together bulgur and 1 tbsp oil in a heatproof bowl.  Pour boiling water over, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes.  Drain in a sieve, pressing on bulgur to remove any excess liquid.

Transfer bulgur to a larger bowl and toss with remaining ingredients (including remaining 2 tbsp olive oil) until combined well.
"If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."

James Herriot (James Alfred "Alfie" Wight), when a human client asked him if animals have souls.  (I don't remember in which book the story originally appeared.)

Elkhound

A pumpkin would work, too.  Remove the seeds like you would if you were making a jack-o-lantern.

DesertRose

And then you'd have roasted pumpkin (or turban squash) to serve as a side.  :)
"If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."

James Herriot (James Alfred "Alfie" Wight), when a human client asked him if animals have souls.  (I don't remember in which book the story originally appeared.)

Elkhound

Try, sometime, roasting a chicken inside a pumpkin.

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