Tunisian Meatballs From 'One Good Dish'

 

 From david tanis via seriouseats, but that website is now down so I gotta copy it?

 

     2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 1/2 cups finely diced onions
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    2 tablespoons tomato paste
    A 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
    Large pinch of saffron, crumbled
    Salt and pepper
    3 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
     
    Meatballs
    1 1/2 cups cubed day-old firm white bread
    1 cup milk
    1 pound ground beef or lamb
    1 large egg, beaten
    4 garlic cloves, minced
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon pepper
    2 teaspoons paprika
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    1 teaspoon turmeric
    1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
    1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
    2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
    2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
    2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
    All-purpose flour for dusting
    Olive or vegetable oil for shallow-frying
     
    Couscous
    1 cup giant couscous, medium couscous, or m’hamsa
    2 tablespoons butter
    1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in hot water until softened, then drained
    Salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

    To make the sauce, heat the oil in a wide heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, without browning, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, cinnamon stick, and saffron and stir well to incorporate. Season generously with salt and pepper and allow to sizzle for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. The sauce can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated.

    To make the meatballs, Put the bread cubes and milk in a small bowl and let the bread soak until softened, about 5 minutes, then squeeze dry and transfer to a medium bowl.

    Add the ground meat to the bread and mix gently with your hands, then add the egg, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cloves, coriander, and nutmeg, and mix well to distribute the seasonings. Add 2 tablespoons each of the parsley, cilantro, and scallions and knead for a minute. The meat mixture can be prepared up to a day in advance and refrigerated.

    With your hands, roll the meat mixture into small balls about the size of a quarter. Dust lightly with flour. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs, turning once, until barely browned, about 2 minutes per side. Drain and blot on paper towels.

    Add the meatballs to the sauce, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the meatballs are tender. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt or cayenne as necessary.

    Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to the package directions, then fluff gently and stir in the butter and raisins. Season with salt and the cinnamon and toss well.

    Spoon the couscous into shallow bowls and top with the meatballs and plenty of sauce. Garnish with the remaining parsley, cilantro, and scallions.
 

Grilled Yeasted Yogurt Flatbread

 Kinda time consuming to cook, but very pleasing. I made a 2x batch.

Adapted from https://thecafesucrefarine.com/greek-yogurt-turkish-flatbread-bazlama/#wprm-recipe-container-32746

 I started mixing the dough around noon, and started cooking it around 5pm

1 ¼ cups water
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
450 grams all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast in the water until spread out. 

Add the sugar, pour into a large bowl

 Add the yogurt and olive oil and mix, wait a few minutes just to let the yeast get started. 

 Add the flour and the salt, then stir.

 Stir for a while - like 5 minutes? It was too sticky to knead, but you really want to work the dough. 

Cover the bowl in saran wrap and let it sit out for about an hour, punching it down and folding it about halfway through.

Then punch it down and fold it one more time and put in the fridge. You could probably do this first part the night before and leave it cold overnight, if so I would punch it down and fold one more time in the morning 

 Take it out about 30 minutes before cooking to get it warm.

 I turned a gas grill as high as it would go (so not that high, frankly), putting an oiled cast iron pan on one side and cleaning + oiling the grates on the other.

Then on  a well oiled cutting board I would flatten out a fist-sized ball of dough as best I could (with my hands), throw it on  the cast iron pan for a minute or two a side, then directly on the grate for another minute or two a side. I could probably have just thrown it on the grate but I am very worried about sticking.

 We ate them warm with some vegan cevapi and ajvar and it was very pleasing.

You could add herbs to the dough if you wanted, or brush with garlic/herb butter after. that would have been delicious too. 

Kimchi Butter Udon

Adapted, extremely slightly, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/kimchi-udon-with-scallions
4 Servings.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup finely chopped kimchi, plus 1/3 cup kimchi juice
2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound fresh (or frozen) udon noodles
Kosher salt
4 large egg yolks
3 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced on a diagonal


1) Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped kimchi and gochujang and cook, stirring occasionally, until kimchi is softened and lightly caramelized, about 4 minutes. Add broth and kimchi juice and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
2) We then let it sit for a while, just so prep was mostly cleaned before dinnertime.
3) Boil noodles according to directions
4) Using tongs, transfer noodles to skillet and add remaining 3 Tbsp. butter; cook, tossing often, until sauce coats noodles, about 2 minutes. Add to bowl and mix in the egg yolks so that they cook in the hot noodles. Sprinkle scallions and, if interested, furikake, over the top.

Ginger & Cabbage fish

 This is the easiest fancy recipe I know. It also scales really well. Below serves 4.
Adapted, slightly, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/soy-and-ginger-steamed-fish

About a pound of skinless fish, cut into 4 portions. We've used snapper and black cod for this, but probably any studyish fish, including salmon, would work.
1 piece kombu (maybe 5x4)
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs sake
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin
1/2 large cabbage, thinly sliced. Maybe more, the cabbage part is delicious
8-12 oz. mixed mushrooms (we use a mix of shiitake and enoki), torn into pieces
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks (thin is important)
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced

 

1) put kombu at bottom of a dutch oven, then add water, sake, soy sauce, mirin, half of the sesame oil.
2) Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and put in the cabbage followed by the ginger and mushrooms.
3) Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes, halfway through pushing the cabbage down so that by the end it all ends up in the broth.
4) You can either leave it out for a while (that's what we do - basically that means almost all of the prep and cleaning is done before dinner gets served)
5) Cover both sides of the fish with a light dusting of salt, the gently put on the cabbage/mushroom bed on while the liquid is on a heat to make it simmer for about 8 minutes, until just cooked through (with thicker fillets it may take a bit longer). It is good with a bit of shichimi togarashi sprinkled over it for heat

Wunga Waffles

This requires a deep pantry of flours, but is pretty good!

You want 4 cups of flour, the exact values are flexible but I suggest:

1 3/4 cup whole wheat
3/4 oat bran
3/4 flax seed meal
3/4 buckwheat
1 t kosher salt
1 t baking soda
1 T baking powder
---
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 T Vanilla
1 quart buttermilk
1/3 cup neutral oil, like canola
---
3 eggs
2 bananas
---
Mix-ins (dried blueberries, chocolate chips, whatever)


Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl

Mash the bananas in a medium bowl
Add the eggs, beat until well mixed
Add the rest of the wet ingredients (sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, oil)

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined
Add in whatever mix-ins, stir gently

These waffles do better on darker settings (I used a 5 on a scale 1-6)

Salmon Burgers

These were shockingly easy

Get 1lbish salmon fillet (for 4 patties)
tablespoon mustard
tablespoon or so of chives
salt, pepper
egg yolk

With a sharp knife, peel skin off of fillet (you can also do this by hand, or ask the fishmonger to do it. Doesn't matter if it comes out evenly, because we're going to chop it anyway)
Chop the salmon into a mush (start with 1" chunks, then keep going). You don't want it to be a paste - some small pieces for texture are good. Add in the other ingredients once the mistrue starts to have some texture.

make patties - make sure they are roughly the thickness of the salmon itself - and (optional) put in fridge for 30 minutes so it sets a bit.

Cook with butter over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes a side.

We served over hamburger buns with guacamole and pickled red onions.

Spicy Turkey and Zucchini

From: https://www.thekitchn.com/spicy-ground-pork-amp-zucchini-stir-fry-247254

Feeds 3

For the sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon angry lady sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon black rice vinegar

stir together, set aside

For the stir-fry and serving:
1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, divided
1 pound ground turkey
Salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced


 Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

Heat a flat-bottomed wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water vaporizes immediately on contact. Drizzle the oil around the pan, add the zucchini, and spread out into one even layer. Let cook undisturbed for about two minutes, until just starting to brown. Flip to other side and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add turkey and stir so that it breaks up into small pieces. It should be cooked in about 5 minutes. Then add the sauce and scallions, stir to combine, and serve.