Foodie Jaunt involving Turkey & Iran

No, We didn't visit Europe lately, nor Central Asia.
The farthest we made it to was to the new (to us) Whole Foods of St.Paul.

Now one might wonder why it took us - fervent adherents of the religion foodism, so long to get to Whole Foods. The short answer is - Trader Joe's of Woodbury.

Trader Joe's satisfies our cravings for exotic & organic fare, without burning a hole in the wallet. So, we kept making plans for a visit to Whole Foods, but then kept putting it off. Finally a couple weeks ago we visited Whole Foods of St Paul and fell in love with the store. Before I go completely off on a tangent and forget the original topic, let me just say that we found quite a few delicacies - including a curry chicken salad from the deli, yummy pastries, delicious sausages and much more.

My better-half also picked up some ground Turkey - evoking an inward groan from me. "We will have to endure some 'healthy' burgers pretty soon" was the thought that ran through my head. Well, for once, I am glad to admit that I was wrong. :-)

Following an Iranian recipe, we made some oven baked Turkey Kebabs with a few simple ingredients:
1 lbs ground Turkey
1/2 an onion chopped up
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp sumac (a Middle Eastern Spice with a very interesting flavor)
If you wish to spice it up some more, add a quarter tsp of Garam Masala.

Mix it well and in a baking dish flatten the mixture in an even layer about 1/2 inch thick. Even though I forgot to mention it before, you might want to spray the dish with some oil or cooking spray.
That is it! Bake it in an oven preheated to 375 deg F for about 25 minutes.
Now take 3-4 vine ripened, quartered tomatoes and place them on top of the kebab and put dish back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

It tastes best with some plain basmati rice cooked with a teaspoon of butter. Baked tomatoes eaten with the kebab and rice add a wonderful taste to it.

A glass of Jacob's Creek Merlot (2007) paired nicely with the meal.

As you can see, one doesn't need to spend a fortune in airfare to enjoy a Turkey Kebab a la Persia.