Tahini and sumac turkey meatballs baked in yogurt custard

March 21, 2020

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

These Tah-chin custard baked meatballs are inspired by a similar Greek dish of yogurt roasted meatballs. The offered meatballs are moist and the dish showcases a spectrum of vivid colors. A very fine looking offering for occasions, potlucks, or parties indeed.

Ingredients:

Tahini and sumac meatballs (recipe follows)
Yogurt custard (recipe follows)
1/2 cup caramelized onions*
2 TBSP tomato paste
Parsley, sumac, and sesame seeds to garnish
* If you don't have pre-made caramelized onions, make it by carmelizing one large yellow onion.
Tahini and sumac meatballs:
1 Pound (~450 gr) 85/15 ground turkey, cold
2 TBSP granulated onion
1 TSP granulated garlic
2 TBSP tahini
1 TBSP sumac
1 TSP salt
1 TSP hot sauce
Yogurt custard:
1/2 cup 2% yogurt
2 egg yolks
2 TBSP butter, melted
1 TSP sugar
1 TBSP rich saffron solution
Salt to season

The following pictures are based on 1/2 of the recipe.

Make the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients. Form golf ball sized meatballs from the meat mixture. Brown the meatballs in a preheated pan and set aside. Rub the tomato paste on the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Spread the caramelized onion on the bottom tomato bed.