Kofta, Albondigas, K''ttublle…a meatball with any other name is still just as yummy!

I am completely fascinated by meatballs.  When I was a kid, I didn't realize that there were other ethnic cultures with meatballs.  Oddly, I thought only Indian's and Italian's had meatballs, a "I" thing.  Unlike the rest of America,  who apparently only knew of Italian style meatballs - at least among my non-Indian friends. 

Meatballs have a fascinating history for all that no-one can definitively state where they originated.  A few cultural/food historians believe that it originated in Persia, since so many variations of the name for meatballs derives from the Persian word koofteh which means 'pounded meat'. 

But, one of the first recorded recipes is from a Roman written in 25 AD - which rated the best meatballs to be made of peacock, then pheasant, rabbit, chicken and then pork (Taste of Ancient Rome by Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa).   I guess beef was not big in 25 AD? 

And trust the Spanish Inquisition to come up with a creative way to use meatballs to identify who needs to be arrested because they aren't Christian.  Just think, you are invited over for dinner and your host is putting out these lovely little meatballs called albondigas.  So, to identify those Jews who were secretly trying to pass for Christian converts - a host would put pork in their albondigas and after the guests were seated, let the guests know that the meatballs were non-kosher.  If any guest refused to eat it or spit it out, they were immediately arrested. 

I just always thought they were a quick and easy meal.  Never really thinking about how they came about - or all the history of it.  (there is more out there!)

You can make so many variations. Whatever you have a taste for, there is a meatball (or you can create one).

Speaking of creating, we have a lot of pickles from my canning project last fall.  And, I was in the mood for Greek.  And, lucky us, we have cucumber lemon pickles, yogurt and dill.

It turned out so good, so I will share both the cucumber lemon pickle and the meatballs.
 

Greek style meatballs with yogurt dill sauce

1 pound ground beef
3-5 slices of pickled cucumbers in lemon, diced
1/2 lemon slice from pickle, diced
1 tablespoon oregano (or to taste)
1 tablespoon parsley (or to taste)
1/4 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoon dill
salt
pepper


Meatballs:
take the ground beef, 1/2 the diced pickle.  Add all the onion,oregano, parsley and garlic. salt and pepper to taste. mix well and form into balls (loosely).  You can add a egg if you wish for binding, but I never find I need it.  Put into a skillet to cook.

Yogurt sauce:
take yogurt, rest of pickle and lemon, dill.  A bit of salt and pepper. mix and set aside until meatballs are done.

Serve with yogurt sauce as a side.

Now the Pickles themselves take a bit of planning, it takes about a minimum of 1 week to cure and get the flavors into the cucumbers.  They are a lovely tart, sweet, lemony flavor.

Cucumber Pickles with lemon

2 pounds small cucumbers
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1 1/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
3 slices fresh lemon
3 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
3 pint jars

1. cut the ends of the cucumbers and discard.  Cut cucumber into thick slices.  Place into non-reactive container, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 3 hours. Drain.  Rinse twice and drain thoroughly.

2. combine vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, peppercorns and allspice in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.

3. add cucumbers to boiling liquid (from step 2). return to a boil, stirring constantly.  remove from heat.

4. remove hot jars from canner.  Place 1 slice lemon, 1 garlic clove and a bay leaf in each pint jar. 

5. remove cucumbers from liquid with a slotted spoon and pack into jars.  Pour hot liquid over the cucumbers to within 1/2 inch of rim (headspace).  Process for 10 min. 

Store in your pantry for future use. In things such as Greek style yogurt and meatballs. Or with your burgers.

Chicken in Catalan Ratatouille

So, as you may or may not know... chicken is my least favorite meat. I don't know why - since it seems to be everyone favorite meat. The default when you do not know what to cook. But for me, chicken takes the most effort. I think because it doesn't have a strong flavor.  could be? maybe?  Or perhaps, I'm just ornery and do not want to like what everyone else apparently loves.  Probably, the later.  *grin*

Well, I made this chicken dish and took some into work to give to a friend who LOVES chicken.  I took enough for her to share with her hubby... but she said it was so good she ate it all. I think that is the best part about cooking - the joy that people have in eating what I make.

So, a bit about this recipe. I have a cookbook I bought at Costco, after we came from Spain the first time around. We had loved the food and I saw this cookbook. For $10, how could I go wrong? And, it's a great buy. So far everything I've made from it has been wonderful - and for the most part I follow the recipe. sort-of.

The book is called: The Food of Spain

Now how can one go wrong with that? And, it has little stories about the food. Which I always find fun and interesting. This dish, is from Catalan. Hence, the alternate name for it Chicken in Catalan Ratatouille. Apparently, the Catalans say it is from Samfaina/Valencian. 

Both Catalan and Valencian food is considered Mediterranean cuisine. The food is based on a mixture of vegetables and meats - like paella - which are slow cooked to bring out the flavors. With Spain having both the European and the Moorish influences, the food is rich, warm and tasty - which is especially great as winter is coming to the Midwest. 

That being said - if you want the original recipe - go buy the book. ;)  They did have zucchini in this recipe that I didn't have at the time - but I would probably add it in for the next go.  Or another green vegetable.  As colors go, this one is very pretty - especially when you do the yellow bell peppers. Which always seem so bright and happy to me. 

Chicken in Samfaina sauce

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces*
1/4 cup butter 
2 large onions, chopped
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
3 cloves garlic (I think there might have been more), crushed / minced
2 large bell peppers, cut into cubes (different colors is nice)
14 oz chopped tomatoes (puree of tomatoes works too)
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped oregano and parsley
1/2 cup white wine

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Officially, you are suppose to brown the pieces - but I'm always too lazy.

Heat butter in a nice sized, deep frying pan/skillet. Add onions, cook for about 10 min until softened. Add garlic, eggplant and bell peppers. Cook for another 10 min or so.

Add wine and deglaze the pan (pulling up the brown bits). Add tomatoes, bay leaf, herbs. Add chicken. Bring to a boil - and then turn down to a simmer over low heat. Cook covered for about 45 min. Or until chicken is cooked and eggplant has softened / disappeared (depending on how small you chopped up the eggplant. I did really small so that the BF wouldn't find it. )

*note: I cut up the chicken legs into 2 parts at the joint, leaving them on the bone. The breast pieces, I cut up into four large cubes. While they will not cook exactly the same time, the breast pieces will cook a bit faster than the legs - the amount of liquid in the dish will keep everything nice and moist.

Crepe's again - gluten free, grain free and yummy!

I love crepes!  And, creating new versions of gluten free crepes has been heaps of fun.

The cashew butter version is really good but it means that I had to have cashew butter available when ever I wanted a crepe.

So, I have been playing with various nut flours, bean flours and the like to get the mouth feel of a good crepe and one that would hold up to fillings.  After all, what good is a crepe that can't hold up to a good preserve or in this case strawberries and whip cream?

Crepes

1/2 cup chestnut flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
4 eggs
1 cup milk or water

mix eggs and liquid until well mixed.  Sift flours into the liquid and mix well and let it sit for about 5 to 10 min.  This will allow the coconut flour to absorb some of the liquids.  It should look like real crepe mix - sort of like cream pouring from a cup.  Add eggs if it is too thick.  Or more chestnut flour if too thin.

Heat a non-stick pan (about the only time I use a non-stick pan) with butter on medium heat.*  Once the butter has melted and is coating the pan.  Pour about a 1/2 a cup into the pan (I use a soup ladle) - tip the pan around to coat the pan with the batter.  cook until you see the edges browning up and pulling away from the pan.  Flip over (you maybe able to do this with just 1 spatula but I usually use two).  brown the other side just for a bit. 

place into a plate. fill with whatever you want.

some options:

• jams and preverves
• fresh fruit
• cheese - like goat or brie or something else soft and melty
• creamed spinach (this one is really good!)
• sauteed mushrooms with cheese

*Note: You don't want to cook on high heat in a non-stick pan because the coating can leach a chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) when exposed to high heat. And, PFOA has been linked to cancer and birth defects.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/10/3443656/your-cookware-may-not-be-as-safe.html#storylink=cpy