5

Employee Profiles
and Recipes

Ali Salimi Khorshidi

RESEARCH MANAGER

“I’ve been impressed by how a team of people with different expertise and backgrounds can work together in the most effective, integrated and organized way possible. I’ve learned a lot about food product development through our collaborations with the food industry, chefs, and food scientists within and outside RRC Polytech.” 

Ali Salimi Khorshidi

Ali is a true multi-disciplinarian who comes to Prairie Research Kitchen from a wide-ranging background that includes chemical engineering process design and cereal chemistry. 

He’s served in research and development and technical advisory roles for the pharmaceutical and food industries and has over 15 years’ experience in multi-disciplinary research, post-secondary teaching, mentorship, and product/process development.

Ali chose this recipe because it has been such a big part of so many good memories. Kabob Koobideh is one of the main traditional dishes of his home country, Iran, and is representative of many aspects of Persian food culture.

FUN FACT: Ali was so excited about a PRK project involving a 3D food printer that he started producing plastic prints at home for his sons with a 3D printer of his own.

Kabob Koobideh
(Grilled Minced Meat Kabob)

Source: persianmama.com

YIELD: 10 KABOBS (4 SERVINGS OF 2 PER PERSON)

1 1/2 lbsground beef (80-85% lean)
1 lbground lamb (80-85% lean)
1 1/2medium yellow onions, quartered
3garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1egg
1 tspsalt
1 tspsumac (sold at Middle Eastern markets)
1/2 tspblack pepper, ground
1/2 tspturmeric powder
1/4 cupbutter, melted (for brushing over the kabobs after grilling)

Grilled Vegetables

4ripe but firm Roma tomatoes
1large green bell pepper, stem removed, deseeded, and quartered

Olive oil (for brushing over the vegetables before grilling)

  1. For best results, use fresh (not previously frozen) meat at room temperature.
  2. Finely chop the onion pieces in a food processor until juicy and strain the juice from the processed onion. Discard the juice. Add the onion pulp to a medium bowl.
  3. Add the ground beef and lamb, minced garlic, salt, spices, and egg to the bowl. Knead the ingredients for several minutes until the mixture is paste-like and sticks together without falling apart.
  4. Wet your fingers so the meat does not stick to them when you are making the kabobs. Divide the meat into 10 equal balls. Holding one of the balls of meat in the palm of your hand, place the skewer on top of it and squeeze the meat around the skewer, squeezing from top to bottom. Cover the middle section of the skewer; leave the top and bottom of the skewer clear. The meat should be about 1/2 an inch thick all around the skewer.
  5. Set the skewer on a shallow baking sheet with sides so the meat doesn’t touch the floor of the baking sheet. Continue making the rest of the kabobs.
  6. Place two square metal pipes lengthwise and parallel to each other on the top and bottom of your grill’s cooking grate. Place the tip of the skewers on the top pipe and the skewer handle on the bottom pipe. This raises the skewers, preventing the meat from touching the hot grate, where it will stick and fall off.
  7. Skewer vegetables separately from the kabobs, and on thinner skewers.
  8. Start grilling the veggies first. Halfway through grilling, start the kabobs.
  9. Fit as many skewers as you can onto the grill while leaving space between them. Begin turning the skewers in order for a short time to firm up the meat. Be careful not to overcook them. Continue turning the kabobs until they are grilled on the outside with no pink on the inside, but still juicy.
  10. Place the cooked kabobs into a container lined with aluminum foil. Cover them until they are ready to serve.
  11. When they are ready to serve, use a piece of flat bread (sangak, soft lavash, or pita) larger than the palm of your hand to grab each kabob and slide it off the skewer onto the serving platter. Brush melted butter over the kabobs.