Danielle's Russian Chicken Katleti (Paleo Style)
As a kid growing up, my mother would always make me little ktzitzot, little juicy burgers, many Israeli moms, would prepare for their kids. It's very much Ohel Baiti or home cooked food and the house would always smell of pan fry and grease. She would make all sorts of ktzitzot mostly with beef, sometimes beef stuffed with an entire hard boiled egg(which I should recreate here), but when she became friends with Batia, she started making them slightly different.
Batia's family was from Russia and these patties were known as Katleti. She would sometimes add grated carrot and some other ingredients to ground chicken along with typical egg and grated onion. If you look up most Katleti recipes, they often feature pork which is of course not kosher, so it would make sense that the jewish version of the popular russian katleti used a form of allowable protein for those russians that still observed Kashrut law.
History aside and long story short, they are delicious. Given I have been doing the whole30 this month, I came up with a great paleo version, omitting breadcrumbs and substituting almond meal(I used Bob's red mill).
I'm typically pretty traditional when it comes to posting recipes on the site that people have passed down but in this specific case, I was eager to share a fun iteration of the recipe for those who follow a clean diet. Scroll down to cook's notes for how to make the basic version.
Serving Size: Makes 10-12 small Katleti
Ingredients
1 lb. ground chicken
1 fresh egg
1/4 Spanish onion, finely grated
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp. hand torn fresh parsley leaves
2 tbsp hand torn fresh dill
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast powder(I used Trader Joe's brand)
4 heaping tbsp. Finely ground almond meal (I used bob's red mill)
Kosher Salt and pepper, to taste
Canola or grapeseed oil
Instructions
Place the ingredients in a bowl. Stir together with a fork until well blended.
Form into thin patties(you can keep your hands wet with some water to help prevent sticking).
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a generous drizzle of oil. Once hot, add the patties carefully and cook until golden brown. Flip and cook the second side until golden.
Test one of the patties to make sure they are cooked through. They should be just opaque and very juicy when pierced with a knife. Serve hot.
You can also cool them down and store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat in microwave.
Cook's Notes
These can easily be made with meat, pork or chicken ommitting all other ingredients but the egg, meat, onion, salt and pepper and grease. That would be your super basic Ktzitza or Katlet. In addition, chicken tends to be way more delicate and doesn't hold together quite as strongly as fattier meats like beef or pork. Just be a little careful when handling and if they seem super delicate, add a little more almond meal to help with the binding. I prefer dark to light meat but to each her own....