Tag: meatballs
Istanbul Day 1- Are we there yet??
Our trip to Istanbul has been in the works since last year in June! We have all been really looking forward to it- especially since we had cousins, etc meeting us there. As some of you know, we were in Lisbon last month and the trip was amazing- the problem was getting there. We had a cancelled flight;lost luggage and lots of frustration in between. As we were headed to the airport for our Istanbul trip, I thought to myself- our flight should be on time, especially since the weather was beautiful, it wasn’t raining and it was a direct flight- what could go wrong?? Well, long story short- we were sitting in the lounge for a very long time as our flight was delayed for almost 4 hours! I think someone at United doesn’t like me!
Anyway, after a long 10 hour flight, we finally made it to Istanbul! We walked out with our luggage intact and the first thing that hit me was the smell in the air- I can’t really describe it but it smelled like India! I immediately felt at home and couldn’t wait to get to our hotel to start our vacation! As we drove by the ocean, we saw hundreds of local families picnicking and preparing their meals on tiny grills. I also found myself peering into local’s cars and trying to envision what kind of a life they lived in this city. Half an hour later I found us in Sultanahmet, which is the old town in Istanbul. Windy, cobblestoned roads led us to our tiny little hotel.
Lentil Soup
We unpacked, showered and headed out. We were hungry and ready for an early dinner. We are lucky enough to have lots of restaurant recommendations from friends who used to live in Istanbul. They directed us to this hole in the wall (Sultanahmet Koftecisi)for meatballs. We walked in and were directed to head upstairs. We saw lots of local families enjoying the evening- a good sign! We promptly ordered and immediately started munching on some bread that was brought to our table. We enjoyed a lentil based soup,
chicken kebabs,
sheesh kebabs, meatballs- which were not what we thought- they were more like kebabs
. We ordered a fresh salad, some yogurt- which was delicious and buttermilk! The meal was served with a tomato based spicy sauce and it was all delicious. They had two desserts on the menu- a semolina pudding
and a pastry pudding. We decided to try them both. For all my Indian readers- the semolina pudding was halwa and the pastry pudding was gulab jamun! They were yummy. We marveled at how similar the foods were to North India! We walked out and felt we needed more dessert and headed to a large tea house (Hafiz Mustafa) that had an array of beautiful looking desserts and puddings. We ended up with a fig pudding,
turkish delights and the most delicious chocolate pistachio baklava!!
It melted in our mouths! Satisfied, we walked around and came across an out door restaurant with lots of people eating and watching a Dervish dance. It was beautiful! After a bit of window shopping, we headed back; bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed it on the terrace and made plans for the next week!
Roasted Red Pepper Meatballs
If you are regular reader, you know how much I love making different kinds of meatballs. This is my newest creation. I roasted a large red pepper, shallot and garlic. I then chopped them up really well and added them to the ground turkey. I also added some chopped parsley and the regular suspects including an egg and panko breadcrumbs soaked in milk. The result was deliciou! I had them with a big salad and my daughter and husband enjoyed them with some whole wheat spaghetti! read more …
Turkey Meatballs with Broccoli Rabe
- 1 pound dark meat turkey
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup basil
- ½ cup parsley
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ¼ cup pine nuts
Process the garlic, basil, parsley, lemon zest and pine nuts in a food processor till all is chopped well.
- ½ bunch broccoli rabe, greens taken off, blanched, squeezed and chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs soaked in ½ cup milk (for 10 minutes)
- 2 cups tomato sauce
Transfer the tomato sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer.
Add the turkey, processed herbs, broccoli rabe, egg, cheese, salt and bread crumbs into a medium bowl. Mix well and form meatballs and slide into the simmering sauce. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and cook meatballs covered with a lid for 15 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve with pasta.
Leftover Meatball Lasagna
Why not finish off the week with another pasta dish? Like yesterdays post, this one made with leftovers as well- I love making a completely different dish the next day. This one is quite simple as well since most of the work was already done. All I made was the béchamel sauce and layered the lasagna noodles with crumbled meatballs. It took almost no time and I had a delicious dish.
Next time you have leftover meatballs, make this delicious lasagna…
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Indian Style Meatballs
I have mentioned this many times- my daughter loves meatballs. In fact, her birthday is coming up and I already know what she will be asking for her special meal. The great thing is that she comes up with really good ideas for new and different ingredients to add to meatballs.
I have to give her full credit for this recipe. She is the one who suggested I make Indian style meatballs. She loves the Indian style burgers I make quite often- in fact she doesn’t like to eat plain burgers restaurants as she only likes the ones I make at home.
So, I ran with her idea and came up with this delicious recipe. I added the usual suspects including ginger, garlic and a shallot. I also added cilantro, coriander powder and garam masala. All of these ingredients created delicious and flavorful meatballs.
I cooked them in my favorite homemade tomato sauce. You can use your favorite store bought tomato sauce as well but nothing like the homemade variety.
This is a great way to change up your usual meatball recipe and make things a bit more interesting…
- 1 pound ground turkey (dark meat)
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro
Add the shallot, garlic, ginger and cilantro into a food processor and process till smooth.
Take the mixture out into a medium bowl.
- ½ cup panko crumbs
- ¼ cup milk
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 15 minutes.
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
Add the soaked breadcrumbs, egg, garam masala, coriander, and salt into the shallot mixture. Mix well and add to the ground turkey. Mix with both hands. Keep aside for 2 to 3 hours.
- 3 cups marinara sauce
Heat the sauce in a large saucepan.
In the meantime form meatballs (the mixture makes about 14 meatballs). Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce as you form them. Once all the meatballs are in the saucepan, simmer covered for 15 minutes. Check for seasonings and serve with spaghetti.
Sweet Pepper Meatballs
This is a fabulous recipe for meatballs. I make them all the time. We all love them, especially my daughter. My goal is to incorporate some kind of vegetable into the meat and make the dish more healthy.
In this case, I took a jar of fire roasted peppers and processed them. I added the puree into the meat. It gave the meatballs a delicious, sweet flavor and a soft texture.
A typical meatball recipe usually includes white bread soaked in milk. I have added breadcrumbs to bind the meat in the past. This time I decided to soak the breadcrumbs in milk and added it to the meat. It made the meatballs extremely soft and delicious.
I cooked the meatballs in homemade marinara sauce and the result was amazing. We had my daughter’s friend over for dinner and everyone enjoyed the meal.
Try these next time you feel like eating meatballs…
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Meatballs with Prosciutto and Basil
Who doesn’t love meatballs? I really enjoy them on a cold, rainy day with a nice glass of a bold red wine. I have made quite a few versions over the years- especially for kids. I love incorporating some kind of vegetables in the meat and cook them in a delicious homemade tomato sauce.
These came about as I watched Live with Regis and Kelly- Regis was talking about some meatballs he had with prosciutto in them, “what a great idea”, I thought.
I bought turkey meat, prosciutto and basil from the store and started making the meatballs. I also made fresh tomato sauce with lots of cherry tomatoes. I added the usual ingredients in the meatballs including a mixture of cooked onions, garlic and prosciutto. I also added breadcrumbs and freshly grated pecorino- which I prefer a tad more than parmesan cheese since it has a lot more flavor.
The meatballs were cooked in the delicious tomato sauce. I realized I had run out of spaghetti so I served them on top of penne. In order to serve a balanced meal, I sauteed baby spinach on the side with some garlic and a splash of half and half. The kids had a glass of milk and the adults had a delicious cabernet.
Try the prosciutto and basil meatballs next time you decide to serve a delicious pasta meal.
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