This is low sodium version of the Spruce Eat's Donor Kebab rolled in a sodium-free flour tortilla and topped with low sodium tzatziki and Harry and David's pepper and onion jelly. It's a labor of love but worth every minute of your time.
The recipe and information below are just for the donor kebab. The donor kebab and tzatziki are better if you make them a day in advance. I like to make the tortillas fresh but they also reheat really well so this can easily be a make-ahead-and-reheat kind of meal. I make a full two pounds of the meat and we eat them all week in a wrap, on salads, or over rice. This also works really well with chicken.
Servings: 8 servings
Sodium: 75 mg per serving
Time: 1 hour, plus overnight chilling if you prefer
Donor kebab ingredients:
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound ground beef
1 large egg
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
3 tablespoons fresh dill or parsley, minced (or 1 tablespoon dry)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard (or 1 teaspoon unsalted mustard)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
I like to use lamb and beef that have at least 10% for more flavor, but you can use any kind. Leaner meats will be a little dryer. You can also do all lamb or all beef.
I also use this same spice mix and add it to 1 pound of chicken breast, cut into small pieces. Marinate for as little as a half hour or as long as overnight, and then cook the chicken over high heat in a cast iron or wok.
1) Preheat your oven to 350°F and oil an 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch pan. If you don't have a square pan you can use a round pan.
2) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. I put on some food preparation gloves and I get my hands in the mix and really massage the meat until it's almost paste-like. The more you work the meat the more loaf-like it will be when it bakes.
3) Press the meat mixture evenly into the pan and bake for 30 minutes.
4) The Spruce Eats recipe says to cool and refrigerate the meat overnight so it's easier to slice, and then to pan fry the slices the next day when you serve it. I agree that it's easier to slice when it's cold, but I skip the pan frying altogether. It just sort of dries out the meat and it's not worth the effort. And if you want to eat it hot, it might not slice up as neat but it's still going to taste great. I also think these would be great as meatballs but if you're going that route, don't overwork the meat so it's more meatball-y and less meatloaf-y if that makes any sense.
Enjoy this over rice or in your favorite flatbread or tortilla. I have recipes for sodium-free pita bread and tortillas. The tortillas are so much easier to make so that's what we usually do. Top the wraps with my low sodium tzatziki and some pickled onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more fresh herbs like mint, dill or parsley. And for an extra treat, add some Harry and David onion pepper relish! Or some Trader Joe's hot sauce.