Meatballs 4.0

Sometimes I surprise myself. I did a quick search on MM before drafting this blog post and found that I have featured the topic of meatballs here, here, and here. Hope you're not "over" the meatball because I HAVE to share another meatball recipe with you. You're just going to have to trust me on this one - let me lead you into the kitchen, I promise not to disappoint you.

Meatballs are one of this dishes that are either fantastic or disappointing. There is little room for anything else in between, however, after listening to Molly and Matthew's recent Spilled Milk podcast all about meatballs, I was inspired to make a batch.  Molly referred to a recipe in her book for Mediterranean style meatballs served a yogurt sauce and immediately I sprung into the kitchen to look it up.

What I loved about this recipe is how flexible and easily interchangeable it is when it comes to ingredients.  Don't have cilantro, but got parsley, substitute. Not a raisin fan, go ahead and substitute with dried cranberries.  The recipe calls for golden raisins, but I used dried cranberries instead. The original recipe calls for 1 lb. ground lamb, turkey or chicken - I did half and half, lamb and ground turkey.  Again, whatever your pleasure. The world is your oyster or in this case, a meatball or two.  The result is one mouthful of unctuous, sweet, earthy and nutty meat. I will wait for applause on this one.

Enjoy.

Doran's Meatballs with Pine Nuts, Cilantro and Dried Cranberries (adapted from Molly Wizenberg's recipe in A Homemade Life)

For yogurt sauce:
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
3 tbs. lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt 


For Meatballs:
1/2 c. yellow onion
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
1/2 c. pine nuts
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. fine bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb. ground lamb
1/2 lb. ground turkey, dark meat
2-4 tbs. olive oil


First, make the yogurt sauce.  Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Allow the flavors to marry together.  You won't be sorry.


Using a food processor, pulse together the onion, cilantro, pine nuts and dried cranberries. In a large bowl or stand-up mixer, combine the ground meats, onion mixture, bread crumbs, beaten egg, salt, cumin, and pepper. Mix until combined, but do your best not to overmix, meat tends to get tough easily. With damp hands, use a small spoon or hands to take a small hunk of meat and form 1-1 1/2 inch balls.  Set aside on a large plate.


Warm 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add about half of the meatballs (be careful not to overcrowd the pan) and brown them on all sides. The meatballs are ready when they are evenly browned and feel pleasantly firm, but not rock hard.  Transfer the cooked meatballs to a paper towel lined plate. Then repeat with second half of the batch, you may or may not have to use more oil, your call.  Trust your culinary instinct.


Serve warm with the yogurt sauce.

Lamb Meatballs 101.

I think it's safe to say, you either fall into the "I love meatballs" camp or you fall into the "I can live without meatballs" camp. For most of my life, I believe I fell into the "I can live without meatballs" camp, but every now and then a recipe will rear it's cute lil' face and entice me into trying it. One thing is for sure, I'm more into the non-traditional meatball as opposed to the typical spaghetti and meatballs (for an example, I wrote a post about two meatball recipes that were to-die-for here).

Years ago I started a project, organizing recipes I had pulled from magazines and newspapers - recipes I had the noble intention of trying at least once. Recently, I looked at the growing pile of magazines and the folder project and decided to come up with a more technologically saavy way of organizing said recipes. I spent a portion of a weekend going through the recipes I had collected and weeding out the ones that still tripped my trigger. One of those recipes happened to be a recipe for Northern Indian lamb meatballs featured in a Martha Stewart Living magazine circa January 2005.

So I spent Sunday evening making these delectable balls of juicy lamb which simmered in a tomato based sauce fragrantly spiced with turmeric, cayenne, coriander and garam masala. The method was a tad different then my prior experience with making meatballs, but the results absolutely yielded the most tender, flavorful meatballs I have ever made.

To accompany the meatballs I heated up some garlic naan from Trader Joe's and I made an impromptu yogurt sauce from scratch. Here's my very own yogurt sauce recipe:

1/2 c. greek yogurt (plain)

1/4 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/2 tsp.-3/4 tsp. garam masala

1/4 tsp.-1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Mix together in small bowl and chill prior to serving with meatballs and naan.

Meatball Mania.

I have a pile of recipes (no joke) that I've been collecting for what feels like eons. Meatballs are one of those treats that you either love or hate. For me, I forgot how much I enjoyed a good homemade meatball. But thanks to Luisa Weiss, I'm once again, a believer. This isn't your typical meatball recipe, there is no marinara sauce and it's made completely with ground pork.

Mediterranean is the flavor base, this meatball recipe features two "dressings" - one with yogurt and one with mint. The yogurt dressing is spiked with cumin and a little sugar and the mint dressing is really more of a vinaigrette with shallots and red wine vinegar. Both dressings really complemented the juicy meatballs. The yogurt sauce cooled your palette and the cumin added a subtle bold hint of woodsy perfume. The mint vinaigrette was fresh and cleansing. I'm adding this one to my book, I think it will make a great appetizer for a dinner party.

What's fer Dinner?

Like the rest of America, I too, was sucked into Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Of course, I watched it post all of the hype. After watching the series one weekend online, I decided to borrow his book from the library (aptly named after the series). Oliver is enduring, adorable and you can't help but fall in love with his political rhetoric, he means business and he cares. That much I know is true, his message is simple and his heart is in the right place. If you haven't watched the series, Oliver goes to what has been dubbed as the most unhealthy city in American, in an effort to educate them with respect to cooking fresh, simple and healthy meals. He hits many walls and obstacles, but he doesn't give in to fear and barge ahead, spreading his gospel.

Tonight, I made one of his 20 minute recipes - Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yogurt (pictured above). Guess what? I actually made the dish in 20 minutes, prep and all, I was pretty surprised. It was fresh, simple and uber tasty. I've planned on making a couple other recipes from the book this week, so I guess we could dub this week, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Week: Part 1".

The salmon was rubbed with a tandoori paste and sauteed in a pan. I made a quick yogurt sauce with greek yougrt, cucumbers, lemon juice, red chile, salt and pepper. Put a piece of garlic naan from Trader Joe's in the oven and voila, supper. I'm looking forward to trying the other recipes this week.