Baked Turkey Kotlet

Ingredients

·      3 pounds ground turkey

·      4 eggs

·      3 medium onions

·      8 medium russet potatoes (~3lbs)

·      1 cup yellow split peas (optional, but they're high in fiber and plant-based protein, with key minerals like potassium and magnesium)

·      3 1/2 teaspoons salt

·      1 clove garlic (crushed)

·      3 teaspoons turmeric

·      6 tablespoons advieh (Persian spice mix)

·      3/4 teaspoon saffron (in 2 tablespoons of hot water, allow it to dissolve for 5 minutes)

·      1.5 cups bread crumbs

·      Spray canola or olive oil

·      1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1.   Add the potatoes to a medium-sized pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, then cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

2.   While the potatoes are simmering in their little Jacuzzi tub, fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and add the yellow split peas. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Then, pour the cooked split peas into your food processor, add some water, and blend until you have a smooth puree.

3.   Peel and grate the onions by hand or use a food processor with a grating attachment, which I usually do (it makes life much easier!). Then, using a simple thin washcloth or paper towel, squeeze out all the excess liquid (to make a delicious and perfectly crispy patty😀).

4.   Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain the water, let them cool, peel, and grate them by hand. Alternatively, use a potato masher or a food processor with a grating attachment (which makes a smooth potato puree that mixes really well with all the ingredients).

5. Prepare 6-8 sheets of parchment paper by lightly spraying them with canola or olive oil.

6.   Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 375°F using the convection bake setting😊😊(Kindly see the 'Points to Remember' below).

7.   Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

8.     Mix thoroughly with your hands.

9.   Moisten fingers (with a bowl of water nearby) before shaping (which makes it much easier to form the patties and keeps the meat blend from sticking to your hands).

10.         Shape the mixture into oval patties (or triangles, as my maman likes to do for me😊about 4 inches long and 1/4 inch thick (flattening them a bit more keeps the inside from getting too mushy for the perfect finished patty).

11.         Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.

12.         Turn the patties over.

13.         Bake for an additional 12 minutes.

14. Secret Healthy Twist: Switch to the HIGH broil mode and broil for 2-4 minutes, adjusting based on your stove's settings (This will make sure the kotlets come out nice and crispy with a beautiful golden-brown color😀same as the deep-fried ones).

15.         Let them cool, if you can resist the temptation😀

Points to Remember!:

• Makes 56 patties

• Turn it into a family affair! It's worth the extra hands-on help!

• If you're putting in the effort, it's best to make a batch and freeze them for later snacks, lunches, or sandwiches on hikes😀 (Use any sandwich bread, ketchup, tomato and pickles).

• For a more traditional kotlet taste, you can use a mixture of half turkey and half ground beef.

• Since it's your first time, you might want to start with a test batch to see how your oven handles the first tray of kotlet.

  
  

  Here's my method to cook 8 trays of kotlet efficiently, with a picture of my oven setup included below:

1. Oven Rack Setup: Place the wire racks at the third level from the top and the third level from the bottom.

2. Oven Function: Use the multi-rack function on your oven with the convection mode.

   
   

This method will complete 8 trays, taking about 2-3 hours. If you are fortunate to have two ovens, you can bake 4 trays at once, working with 2 ovens, and have them ready in about 1-1.5 hours.

1. Broil Mode: When broiling (please see Step 14 as mentioned above), the top tray will be ready in 2-4 minutes (depending on your stove settings). Move the bottom tray to the top rack and broil for an additional 2 minutes.

2. Switch Back: Switch your oven back to convection mode and bake the remaining trays of kotlet.

So, here’s the scoop: with just one oven, you'll bake 2 trays at a time and repeat that 4 times to get through all 8 trays. It’s a bit of a process, but totally doable!

Enjoy and savor every bite! 😊

My daughter shaped this kotlet into a heart and excitedly said, "This is, I love kotlet😊!"