Yes, more meatballs. I’m on a kick. This recipe also reminded me why I no longer cook meat on the stovetop. I’ll bake these instead of pan frying next time, basting the meatballs halfway through cooking.
gluten-free, paleo
Lamb Meatballs with Sticky Tamarind Sauce
1 lb. ground lamb
2 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. turmeric powder
1/2 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
Salt & pepper
Set a large frying pan over medium-high heat with a Tablespoon or so of your favorite neutral oil.
Combine all ingredients by hand and form into meatballs, dropping into the pan as you go.
Let fry until the first side has released from the pan and is browned. Flip.
While those are working, prep the sauce.
Combine:
3 Tbsp. tamarind paste
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or honey or date syrup)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. neutral oil
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. red chili flakes
When the meatballs are about 3/4 done, scootch over to the sides of the pan and dump all the sauce ingredients in the center. Stir, coating the meatballs, and finish cooking over medium heat.
Serves 4
An optional side (pictured)
500g microwave bag small potatoes
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 Tbsp. mustard oil
2 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. butter
Salt & pepper
Cook the potatoes through and then chop. In a large pan over medium-high, warm the mustard seeds in the oil until they start to pop.
Add the curry powder to bloom.
Add the potatoes and peas and hit with generous salt & pepper. Stir well to combine.
When your meatballs are 3/4 of the way done and your potatoes & peas are getting a little browned, add the butter and stir again to combine.
I love it when a recipe turns out exactly how I pictured in my minds’ eye. I was craving buffalo chicken dip and wanted to give my Ranch powder a whirl – and I’m glad I did. This dish held up really well as leftovers.
gluten-free, paleo (if you use paleo ranch seasoning), low carb
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken
3 Tbsp. ranch seasoning powder
1 rib minced celery
An equal amount grated carrot
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
4 Tbsp. buffalo hot sauce
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. butter, softened
Generous pinch salt and generous dusting pepper
Prepare a baking sheet and preheat your oven to 200C/375F.
Mix all ingredients by hand, form into golf ball sized meatballs, and place on the baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes.
I served these with Ranch sweet potato fries (pictured).
To make, peel 2 small sweet potatoes and cut into fry-shaped sticks. Toss with a little oil or ghee, salt & pepper and 2 Tbsp. ranch powder. Arrange in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.
Flip, scootch over to the side, add the meatballs and bake another 15 minutes with the meatballs.
Another Middle Eastern-inspired meatball recipe, this time with beef. Do you see a trend here? I’ve got a lamb version coming soon (hopefully – if my idea works out).
gluten-free, paleo
Pomegranate Beef Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 c. slivered almonds
3 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp. pomegranate arils
3 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1/2 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. turmeric
2 Tbsp. fish sauce or Worcestershire (check labels if paleo or gf)
Salt & pepper
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F and prepare a baking sheet.
Combine all ingredients with your hands, mixing well.
Form into meatballs – mine were roughly golf ball shaped.
Bake about 15 minutes.
Great alongside last week’s recipe for Pomegranate & Fig Salad.
I made this as an accompaniment to some killer meatballs (recipe coming next week), but this dish as it is would be great as a holiday side or studded with any protein of choice for a rounded out meal.
Note: I completely forgot to do so when making this recipe, but chucking a couple big hands of baby spinach was a fantastic way to dress up the leftovers and add a nutrient punch.
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Pomegranate & Fig Salad
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into inch-ish chunks
6 figs, sliced (I had dried on hand but fresh would be even better)
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
1/3 c. pomegranate arils
Tahini & pomegranate molasses to drizzle
Salt & pepper
Your favorite seasoning – I used a spicy creole mix
Oil
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F. Prepare a baking sheet.
Chop the sweet potato into inch-ish chunks, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper & seasoning, spread out onto a baking sheet and bake until your desired level of doneness is achieved. I let mine go until the pieces were almost crispy.
Toss with the rest of the ingredients and drizzle with the sauces.
As noted in the head notes, a good couple hands of baby spinach and your protein of choice would round this out to a great meal.
This is a good one – baked meatballs are quick to make and last in the fridge for days – a great meal prep component or emergency snack to keep on hand.
gluten-free, paleo, low carb
Middle Eastern Spiced Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken
3 Tbsp. zaatar
1/4 c. slivered pistachios
2 tsp. sumac or lemon powder
1 small onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 200C/375F. Prepare a baking sheet.
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands to combine.
Form into meatballs and bake 15 minutes.
Makes enough for 4 servings
Bonus Recipe: A quick side salad to go with
2 cucumbers, cut into small moons
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp. green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
Hand full of olives, sliced thin
Hand full of your favorite salty cheese (I used an aged provolone tasting vegan cheese)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. your favorite mustard (I used Dijon)
1 Tbsp. zaatar
Salt & pepper
Whisk together all ingredients from the olive oil down. Pour over the rest.
Everything But The Bagel Seasoning is on it’s way out of the zeitgeist, but I’m behind the times. EBB seasoning has been causing a stir as of late where I live, with warnings going out left and right to not try and smuggle illegal items into the country while coming back from your Summer vacations.
Whaa?
Where I live, poppy seeds are illegal. I thought this had something to do with them not being halal, but according to Islamweb.net, they are fine to consume as food. The Global Arabic Encyclopedia says that the seeds have no narcotic properties, and are fine for both human and livestock consumption. [Source]
No idea why they’re illegal where I live, but they most certainly are.
In a 2019 bulletin, they were still on the banned import list.
“All Types of Papaver or Opium poppy seeds with or without mixing with other substances and all foodstuff include Papaver or Opium poppy seeds as ingredient.” The reason given was “Precautionary measure due to possibility of non-food prohibited use.” [Source]
Which is a total bummer, since I’ve been dying to get my hands on an EBB seasoned avocado toast (I know, stick me in Uggs and gimme a PSL at Target).
I was not about to risk going to jail for a seasoning, so I indulged during my trip to the US and then made plans to make my own when I got home.
I’m glad I did. Yum. I remember liking EBB seasoning on bagels, but it’s a nice way to dress up an otherwise pretty plain breakfast (unless you top it with Tajin, that is – my other go-to).
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Legal Everything But The Bagel Seasoning Avo Brekkie
seasoning:
2 Tbsp. granulated onion (chunky dried onion)
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic (chunky dried garlic)
1 Tbsp. black sesame or nigella seeds
1 Tbsp. white sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 tsp. flaky salt
the rest:
2 tsp. oil
1/2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3-1/2 c. frozen spinach
Dusting nutmeg
Dusting smoked paprika
Salt & pepper
1 small avocado
2 slices toast
Heat the oil in a pan over medium. Sauté the shallot and garlic until soft. Add the spinach, and let go a minute or two to start thawing.
Add a couple dashes of water to steam the rest of the spinach thaw.
When thaw, add the spices and stir. Let cook a minute more to combine. Hit with salt & pepper.
To serve, mash the avocado lightly and spread in a thick layer on the toast. Add the spinach and sprinkle the whole thing liberally with the EBB Seasoning. Add a little more flake salt to the top. Enjoy.
This is a good one and fine for a nice light Summer dinner. I think I also finally licked the issue with having my coconut curries turn out too bland – I think I *finally* added enough spice!
gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan
Roasted Veggie Coconut Curry
2-3 c. pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 c. broccolini, chopped
2 green chilis, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
15 oz. can coconut milk
2 empty cans’ worth your favorite stock
4 Tbsp. curry blend
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
Protein of choice
Rice noodles
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Bake the pumpkin at 400F in a little oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, 20-30 minutes or until soft.
Add the rest of the ingredients to a slow cooker or Instant Pot, minus the protein, noodles, lime juice, scallion or cilantro. Set on “Soup” or “Stew” and let cook. If you are using chicken, add the protein at this step. If you’re using something like seafood or tofu, cook separately and add at the end with the noodles.
Prepare your noodles separately.
When the curry is done cooking, tase for salt & pepper and top with the lime juice, scallion and cilantro.
Miso. Butter. Is. Amazing. I don’t know why the combo never occurred to me, but when I scrolled past the mere mention somewhere out there on the Internets, I was intrigued.
I’m glad I followed that particular tangent, because I would happily slather this stuff on pretty much anything (including toast).
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan if you swap for vegan butter
Pictured here with sweet potato fries, which is also a good call
Miso Butter Bowl
miso butter:
3 Tbsp. your favorite butter, softened
2 Tbsp. white miso
A big hand full of minced scallion whites
Mush the above into a compound butter.
bowl:
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Your favorite seasoning (I used Tony’s Cajun)
toppers:
Roast chickpeas (to make: drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, spread out in a single layer on a prepared sheet and bake at 400F for 20-30 mins or until your desired level of crisp and brownness has been reached. Toss with a Tablespoon of oil and a liberal amount of your favorite seasoning – I used more of that Tony’s)
The greens from your scallions
Sesame seeds
This would also be great with a good cashew cheese, but I did not have any on hand
To assemble, sauté the zucchini, corn, onion and garlic in a teaspoon of oil until your desired level of brownness has been reached. Season with salt, pepper and your seasoning. Add the miso butter and let go another minute or two.
Add the veggies into a bowl, and top with your extras.
I’ve been having a mini love-affair with miso this week – stay tuned for more umami bomb recipes coming in the next few weeks – and this delicious little dinner salad does that love justice.
I can see using the leftovers of this dressing mixed with quinoa, or in a pumpkin-heavy dish. Also as a drizzle for chicken.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Miso Vinaigrette Salad
Dressing:
1 heaping Tbsp. white miso
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. neutral oil
2 Tbsp. sushi vinegar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. honey
Pinch cayenne
Salt & pepper
Salad:
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 large bok choy, washed and sliced thin
1 package baby spinach
2 tsp. sesame oil
Soy sauce
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds
Big hand pepitas (toasted cashews would also be great)
Protein of choice: I used simply sautéed tofu
Optional topper: crispy chickpeas
Chop the zucchini and bok choy (whites) and set to sautee over medium-high with the sesame oil.
Let cook until crisp-tender.
Add a generous sprinkle of soy sauce.
Add the spinach and bok choy greens and toss until the spinach is barely wilted. Set aside. Drain if wet.
To make the dressing, whisk or shake all ingredients together.
To assemble the salad, add the toppers and toss with a couple Tablespoons dressing.
This week, I was really attracted to the Buddha bowl pics scattered throughout my Pinterest feed and didn’t want to make 9,000 ingredients – so I worked to combine a list (albeit a large list) of simple ingredients in a variety of ways to make the best of a simple mixture of quinoa + rice.
My week 100% could have been more cost-effective, but it gave me a good dose of the ingredients combining kind of Chopped Kitchen kind of life I’ve been missing.
Quinoa & Rice Base
3/4 c. quinoa (rinse if you’re not lazy like me)
3/4 c. sushi rice (rinse if you aren’t lazy like me)
2 Tbsp. mushroom-based umami powder
1 Tbsp. vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar but only had black vinegar on hand)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
Big sprinkle salt
3c. water
Combine all and set your rice cooker to cook. Alternately, sushi rice & quinoa both take about 25 minutes to cook on the stove.
Now for the mix-ins to transform this simple added-protein base into a few different dishes.
Day 1: Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl
Sesame crusted salmon (take 1 salmon steak, skin and de-bone. Pat dry. Brush with a little soy sauce and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds. Press the sesame seeds into the fish to adhere. Shallow fry over medium-high in a pan until cooked to your desired doneness. Drain on paper towels until ready to use.)
Quinoa + sushi rice base (see recipe above)
Avocado, sliced or cubed
Lemon sesame pickled cucumbers , diced
Pickled ginger, minced
Nori
Roasted butternut squash (Mix 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, 1/2 tsp. date molasses & 1/2 tsp. white miso into a sauce – drizzle over a halved and seeded butternut squash and bake @ 400F for 25 mins or until soft and browned)
Sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (tahini would also be great)
1 tsp. white miso
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Bulldog sauce (or Worcestershire)
2 tsp. black vinegar (or sushi vinegar)
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. your favorite hot sauce (I used a habanero mix)
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with thinly sliced nori. Dust with more sesame if desired.
Day 2: Spicy Fiesta(ish) Bowl
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Sauté the above in olive oil; season with salt, pepper & Tony’s Creole seasoning or your favorite spicy mix
Bowl Base
1/2 c. quinoa
1 hand full cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. lime juice
Add the water to the quinoa and zap to warm. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
Sauce
2 Tbsp. your favorite plain yogurt (mine is a plain coconut milk)
2 tsp. – 1 Tbsp. your favorite hot sauce (mine is a habanero garlic mix)
Stir to combine.
Toppers
Avocado
Butternut squash leftover from the first bowl
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and top with avocado & squash.
Day 3: Spiced Chickpea Veggie Bowl
1.5 c. chopped kale
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lg. zucchini, diced
1 Tbsp. oil
Salt & pepper
Sauce
1/4 c. yogurt
1 Tbsp. almond butter
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. sumac
2 tsp. lemon juice
Leftover Bowl Components
Butternut squash
Quinoa rice mix
Topper
Avocado
Roasted chickpeas (I usually buy mine and have an Indian spiced variety that’s amazing)
To make your bowl, assemble about half a cup of the quinoa mix and later the desired amount of the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle sauce over top and add avocado & chickpeas.
Gastography 