I think just about every cuisine has a meatball recipe — albóndigas (Spain), koftë (Turkey), polpette (Italy), frikadeller (Finland), bakso (Indonesia), gehaktbal (Netherlands), bola-bola (Philippines), Fleischlaibchen (Austria), köttbullar (Sweden), faggot (UK, seriously), pulpety (Poland), just to name a few.
My favorite ball of meat is the koftë – those wonderful spice- and herb-filled delights that hit the spot every time. While my favorite method of cooking koftë is to grill them, I live in Wisconsin so the grilling season is a short one and I want these puppies all year round. Because of this, I have come up with a baked version that, while lacking in that glorious charred exterior, is still juicy and flavorful.
I serve them with a lemon-scented, herb-flecked Greek yogurt sauce, grilled/roasted veggies (asparagus; Juliette tomatoes – can’t wait till they are in season; zucchini; eggplant, etc.) or some crisp cucumbers, and grilled naan or pita. I could eat about 20 of them, but I restrain myself to about six or eight. Here’s the recipe:
Oven-baked Koftë
Serve 4-6 adults
Ingredients
Sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (preferably whole-milk, but 2% would suffice)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Juice from ½ a lemon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ freshly ground pepper
Koftë:
1 cup firm white bread, torn into small pieces
1 small onion (about 1 cup)
¼ cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1 lb ground lamb (from shoulder) – ground chuck or turkey thigh work well, too.
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (I've also used pistachios)
Special equipment: If grilling, you will need 6 wooden skewers, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes or 6 metal skewers (no soaking needed).
Directions
Make the sauce:
Stir together yogurt, mint, cilantro, garlic, lemon zest and juice and salt in a small bowl and chill.
Make the meatballs:
Cover bread with water in a bowl and soak 15 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of bread to remove as much excess water as possible, and then transfer to a bowl.
In a food processor, pulse onion, herbs and pine nuts until finely chopped, then add to bread along with lamb, salt and spices. Mix with your hands until well blended. Using a small ice cream scoop, form lamb mixture into balls (a scant tablespoon each).
Assemble and cook koftë:
Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal or preheat oven to 425 degrees.
To grill:Thread 6 meatballs ¼-inch apart onto each of 6 skewers. Grill koftë on oiled grill rack, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.
To bake: On a Silpat-lined baking sheet, roll meatballs in extra virgin olive oil until lightly coated. Place them ½-inch apart and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown, flipping once during baking.
Serve piping hot with yogurt sauce.
It was a two-basket trip to the market this week. Pickle wanted to be carried half-way through our circuit, so the stroller took over as a cart for all of our goodies. The weather is finally getting warm again and with that a return to more summery cooking. Our menu this week is loaded with vegetables – some more successfully executed than others (more on that in a later post).
While fall may have arrived in Madison this weekend (it was 68 degrees and cloudy), our CSA delivery was summer in a box! I can't wait to cook this week; I need some kitchen therapy to recover from last week's horrendousness at work. Know that bumper sticker that reads, "Mean People Suck”? Well, they really do!
My sister Holley and brother-in-law Jason were in town this weekend for a visit. Since Holley is as obsessed with food as I am, we cooked up one heck of a feast on Saturday, taking most of our inspiration from Suzanne Goin’s fabulous cookbook, Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Not for the meek or mild, this cookbook is a challenging set of menus that make the most of each season’s bounty. We bought what was in season at the market and then looked to her cookbook to see what we could make. The only substitutions we needed were fennel for artichokes and strawberries for peaches. Not bad considering she is from L.A. and we're in Madison, WI.
I think just about every cuisine has a meatball recipe — albóndigas (Spain), koftë (Turkey), polpette (Italy), frikadeller (Finland), bakso (Indonesia), gehaktbal (Netherlands), bola-bola (Philippines), Fleischlaibchen (Austria), köttbullar (Sweden), faggot (UK, seriously), pulpety (Poland), just to name a few.
Assemble and cook koftë:
Happy 4th of July. Pickle has been sicker than a dog (such a strange expression; what does that mean, exactly?) and this weekend has been all about taking care of him and his poor, afflicted GI track until today: today he is finally feeling better and acting a little bit more like himself. Hurrah! That means he's taking a good nap and I am cooking up a storm. But first, here's what was in our CSA box this time:
Cream crackers with garlic and parsley – I really loathe giving Pickle things chocked full of preservatives, especially when I can make them at home. Store-bought crackers are culprits of the high-fructose corn syrup, calcium propionate, disodium EDTA preservative craze. I know that preservatives keep things fresh and I know that I've eaten my fair share of preservatives, but when you can easily avoid them, why not?
Quick Strawberry Jam
This is a truly bastardized recipe for Asian-style slaw that pulls in influences from across Southeast Asia. It captures the magical balance of flavors for which this complex region is known: sour, sweet, spicy and salty. It’s also a great way to use up leftover grilled meat. We used steak, but pork tenderloin, chicken (shredded), shrimp or fish would all work in its place. While it was only 75 degrees in Madison when we ate it, this would be a perfect dinner to make when it’s hot out. Just crack open a couple bottles of Tsingtao or Singha and enjoy.
Slaw:
