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My cookbook: "Tehran to New York"

On the Norouz day of 2020 spring, I finally published my book. The manuscript is titled: "Tehran to New York: A culinary bridge between Persian and Western cultures" and aims at presenting a unique blend of classic and contemporary Persian recipes, as well as samples of Western-style cuisine, offered in a Persian context. It is important to build bridges between cultures, and not walls. This book aims at constructing a bridge between the Persian and Western cultures. The book may be ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Tehran-New-York-culinary-cultures-ebook/dp/B0861H47GS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tehran+to+new+york&qid=1584810930&sr=8-1  

Syrian style fried herb and meat patties

The presented Syrian dish captivated me, given its resemblance to the Persian fried meat patty dish "Cutlet." The all-time favorite Cutlet is consisted of beef, grated potato, onions, and eggs. The mixture is formed into flat patties and shallow fried in hot oil. Many Persian folks prefer to flavor the patties with dried dill. The presented Syrian version is more herbaceous; the sharpness of mint is particularly important to its unique flavor profile. 

Ingredients:

1 medium bunch of cilantro
1 medium bunch of parsley
1 small bunch of mint
3 sprigs of scallion
The combined weight of all the above herbs should not exceed 3.52 Oz (~100 gr)
4 medium eggs
2 TSP salt
1/2 TSP granulated garlic
1.1 Pounds (~500 gr) 85/15 ground lamb (or beef)
3 TBSP ground tortilla chips (or the traditionally used Matzo meal)
3 TBSP pine nuts






Mix the ground tortilla with lamb. To make ground tortilla, coarsely blend tortilla chips. You may very well use Matzo meal in its stead. In a blender combine the herbs, eggs, salt, and garlic powder.
 Mix the blender puree with the lamb and mix well. Add the pine nuts and mix.
Form fat and short burger-like patties from the meat mixture. Shallow fry in hot oil until golden brown (2 minutes per side).
An acidic condiment, such as Tabbouleh, is an excellent counterpart to the richness of the fried patties.

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