Lean Turkey Kotlety with Mushroom Filling

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My sister’s mom-in-law, Galina, shared this recipe for stuffed kotlety with me. I tried them at my sister’s house and they were so flavorful but they were lean and felt good in my pregnant belly. I knew I had to recreate them. A few days later, these were on my stove-top.

There’s a surprise ingredient in these that makes the meat juicier and healthier (zucchini!) and you can’t even tell it’s in there when you eat them! Sure, sure you could just make plain kotlety without the stuffing but these are way more fun and exciting!

I loved Galina’s addition of buckwheat, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can just double the mushroom/onion filling ingredients and make a simple mushroom filling. Thank you Galina for sharing this delicious recipe! 

Ingredients for Turkey Beef Katlety:

1 lb lean Ground Turkey
1/2 lb lean Ground beef (I used 9% fat)
1/2 large onion, finely grated + juice released from grating onion
1 garlic clove, finely grated or pressed
1/2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 cup finely grated)
1 large egg
1 tsp salt (we used sea salt)
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp mayo,
1 Tbsp flour + 1 cup more to dredge patties
Oil to saute (I used extra light olive oil which has a higher smoke point than other olive oils)

Ingredients for Buckwheat & Mushroom filling:

(If you don’t have buckwheat, double the mushrooms & onions and just use that as a filling):

1/4 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cooked buckwheat (grechka) **see notes below on buying/cooking buckwheat
Salt to taste

**Notes on buying/ cooking buckwheat:

1. We have found the best source for buckwheat to be European stores/ Russian stores. Theirs don’t turn mushy and is a great value. Whole foods sells a good one too but it’s spendy.

2. Buckwheat is cooked similar to white rice. We put it in the rice maker: 1 cup rinsed buckwheat + 2 cups filtered water + 2 Tbsp butter + 1/2 tsp salt and we set it on the white rice setting.

How to Prepare the Mushroom & Buckwheat Filling:

1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat with 1 Tbsp oil. Add finely chopped onion and saute 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Onions will be soft and translucent.

2. Add sliced mushrooms and saute another 4-5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until mushrooms and onions are soft and browned.

3. Add 1 cup cooked buckwheat, stir to combine and season with salt to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp salt). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

How to Make the Meat Patties/ Katlety:

1. In the bowl of your mixer (you don’t need a mixer but I love mixing meat in my KitchenAid), combine all ingredients for Katlety: 1 lb ground turkey, 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/2 large onion, finely grated (with juice that is released from onion), 1 finely grated garlic clove, 1 small finely grated zucchini, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp mayo and 1 Tbsp flour. Use the paddle attachment (or a mixing spoon) to stir until well combined.

2. Set up your assembly line: (1) Add some cold water to a bowl since you want to keep your hands wet while molding the turkey patties. (2) You’ll also need your bowl of meat mixture, (3) followed by your bowl of filling and (4) a shallow bowl  with 1 cup of flour to dredge the patties once they are formed.

3. Wet hands will keep the meat from sticking to you. Place a flat ice cream scoop of meat mixture into your hand and create a well in the center.

4. Fill with about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of mushroom/buckwheat filling (I used a mini ice cream scoop for easy measuring). With wet hands, bring the edges of your meat around the filling to create a seal, making sure there aren’t any gaps. Form each patty into an oval.

5. Dredge lightly in flour patting between two dry hands to get excess flour off. I place 5 kotlety in the flour plate at a time and then wash my hands and dredge the kotlety. Place dredged kotlety on a floured plate until ready to saute (it’s even better to line the plate with parchment paper so they don’t stick to the plate).

6. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add kotlety (about 5 at a time), cover with a dome-shaped lid and saute 4 minutes on medium heat undisturbed.

Remove cover and saute second side another 3-4 minutes. I turned them onto their sides for an additional minute as well to  brown all sides. Remove from the pan and cover to keep warm while you prepare the remaining kotlety.

Wipe the pan with a paper towel between each batch and add more oil as needed. Serve warm. These also re-heat really well on a covered skillet, or in the oven.

Lean Turkey Kotlety with Mushroom Filling

4.75 from 12 votes

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

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Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 (makes 18-20 kotlety)

Ingredients for Kotlety:

• 1 lb lean Ground Turkey
• 1/2 lb lean Ground beef, I used 9% fat
• 1/2 large onion, finely grated + juice released from grating onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated or pressed
• 1/2 medium zucchini, about 3/4 cup finely grated
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt, we used sea salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 Tbsp mayo
• 1 Tbsp flour + 1 cup more to dredge patties
• Oil to saute, I used extra light olive oil which has a higher smoke point than other olive oils

Ingredients for the Mushroom/buckwheat filling:

• 1/4 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup cooked buckwheat, grechka **see notes below on buying/cooking buckwheat
• Salt to taste

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Instructions

How to Prepare the Mushroom & Buckwheat Filling:

• Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat with 1 Tbsp oil. Add finely chopped onion and saute 2 minutes, stirring occassionaly. Onions will be soft and translucent.
• Add sliced mushrooms and saute another 4-5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occassionally, or until mushrooms and onions are soft and browned.
• Add 1 cup cooked buckwheat, stir to combine and season with salt to taste (I used about 1/4 tsp salt). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

How to Make the Meat Patties/ Kotlety:

• In the bowl of your mixer (you don't need a mixer but I love mixing meat in my KitchenAid), combine all ingredients for Katlety: 1 lb ground turkey, 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/2 large onion, finely grated (with juice that is released from onion), 1 finely grated garlic clove, 1 small finely grated zucchini, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp mayo and 1 Tbsp flour. Use the paddle attachment (or a mixing spoon) to stir until well combined.
• Set up your assembly line: (1) Add some cold water to a bowl since you want to keep your hands wet while molding the turkey patties. (2) You'll also need your bowl of meat mixture, (3) followed by your bowl of filling and (4) a shallow bowl with 1 cup of flour to dredge the patties once they are formed.
• Wet hands will keep the meat from sticking to you. Place a flat ice cream scoop of meat mixture into your hand and create a well in the center.
• Fill with about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of mushroom/buckwheat filling (I used a mini ice cream scoop for easy measuring). With wet hands, bring the edges of your meat around the filling to create a seal, making sure there aren't any gaps. Form each patty into an oval.
• Dredge lightly in flour patting between two dry hands to get excess flour off. I place 5 kotlety in the flour plate at a time and then wash my hands and dredge the kotlety. Place dredged kotlety on a floured plate until ready to saute (even with a floured surface, some of my kotelty still stuck to the plate so keep a spatula on hand to lift them up).
• Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add kotlety (about 5 at a time), cover and saute 4 minutes on medium heat undisturbed. Remove cover and saute second side another 3 minutes. I turned them onto their sides for an additional minute as well to brown all sides. Remove from the pan and cover to keep warm while you prepare the remaining kotlety. Wipe the pan with a paper towel between each batch and add more oil as needed. Serve warm. These also re-heat really well on a covered skillet, or in the oven.

Notes

**Notes on buying/ cooking buckwheat:
1. We have found the best source for buckwheat to be European stores/ Russian stores. Theirs don't turn mushy and is a great value. Whole foods sells a good one too but it's spendy.
2. Buckwheat is cooked similar to white rice. We put it in the rice maker: 1 cup rinsed buckwheat + 2 cups filtered water + 2 Tbsp butter + 1/2 tsp salt and we set it on the white rice setting

• Full Nutrition Label
• Nutrition Disclosure

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian

Keyword: Turkey Kotlety

Skill Level: Medium

Cost to Make: $$

P.S. Do you have a good source for buckwheat? Please share in a comment below! 🙂 Thanks and have an awesome week!