Kangaroo and burghul salad

"With regard to animal welfare and the environment, kangaroo is one of the best meat options going." Matthew Evans, For the Love of Meat

Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 125 g burghul (bulgur wheat)
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 500 g kangaroo mince
• 125 g butter
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 80 g (½ cup) pine nuts, toasted
• 75 g (½ cup) currants
• salt, to taste
• flatbreads, to serve

Yoghurt dressing

• 300 g thick Greek style yoghurt
• 2 tbsp dried mint

Tomato salad

• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Cabbage slaw

• ½ small red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Soaking time 15 minutes

Instructions

Place the burghul in a fine sieve and rinse under cold running water. Place in a bowl and stir through the lemon juice and stand for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over low heat and cook the onion for 8- 10 minutes or until soft. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Increase the heat to high, then add the mince to the pan and cook until the juices have evaporated. As the mince cooks, break up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low, then add the butter, pepper and spices and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the meat is well cooked. Add the mixture to the bowl with the onion, then add the pine nuts.

Drain the burghul and squeeze it dry, then add it to the mixing bowl along with the currants. Season to taste with salt, then pile the mixture on a serving platter and set aside while you prepare the sides.

To make the yoghurt dressing, mix the yoghurt, dried mint and a pinch of salt until combined. 

To make the tomato salad, toss the tomato with remaining olive oil and a good pinch of salt. 

To make the red cabbage slaw, toss all the ingredients together and season well.

Heat the flatbreads on a large griddle plate or in a frying pan until they puff up and start to scorch.

To serve, put platters of warm kangaroo and burghul, salads and flatbreads on the table and let everyone help themselves.

Note:

• To give this salad more of a tabouleh feel, add 1 cup each of chopped dill and parsley and mix through at the end.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Vanessa Austin. Food preparation by Alex Herbert.

For The Love of Meat with Matthew Evans starts Thursday 20 October at 7.30pm on SBS and then on SBS On Demand.  Visit the program page for show information, related articles and more recipes. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.