The sun is coming out, and instead of finding myself refreshed, I find myself depleted. G and I are both traveling too much - I'm literally packing for the next trip out the of suitcases not yet undone from the last one...
When I feel this way, I tend
to keep things simple in
the kitchen, I put
aside my zest for
experimentation and
gravitate toward ingredients I
know,
recipes I've memorized. I
make big batches of jumbo
meatballs -
laced with cinammon and cumin,
lightened with ground almonds instead of breadcrumbs.
In
the summer I use
the meat to stuff beefsteak
tomatoes. But
the meatballs are
wonderful served with cous cous and
tomato sauce as
well.
I
made a
batch the night before I
went into labor last August,
so I
think of them as
good luck. (
That's me and
the soon-to-be-born Augustin!)
I
make roasted eggplants - stuffed with quinoa,
topped with grilled goat cheese and
fresh coriander -
healthy and
incredibly satisfying.
And
then of course,
there's the bacon. Lardons (cubes
of chopped smoked bacon) are
the very definition of comfort food in
our house -
the little something that makes everything taste better.
Haricots verts aux lardons, green
beans sauteed with bacon (
topped with lots
of black
pepper)
is a standard
of G's repetoire,
so I
can soak in
the bathtub while he makes it,
which is a
considerable advantage. Pair
it with an
oven roasted sweet potato and a
dollop of plain yogurt -
there's almost nothing I'd rather eat.
I'm off
to NY on
Monday -
which always gives me a
jolt of energy. If
you're in
New York City,
I'd love
to see you at Barnes and Noble
Tribeca on
Wednesday, April 7
th, 7
pm - for a
reading (and
some homemade baked goods)!
Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!
Jumbo Meatballs with a touch of North African Spice
Meatballs have never been an exact science for me. The key is to handle the meat as little as possible. The ice water always helps keep them light as well as moist– perhaps there’s a Chemistry major who can tell me why…
500 grams ground beef
500 grams pork
½ cup breadcrumbs or ground almonds
1 large onion (red or white) grated
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
A few good pinches of cinnamon
Sprinkle of cumin
Handful of golden raisins
½ teaspoon of coarse sea salt, or more to taste
Black pepper to taste
2 eggs
1/3 cup ice water
Preheat the oven to 400F.
In a large shallow casserole dish, crumble the meat and then LAYER the onion, herbs and spices, raisins, salt and pepper on top. Do not mix after the addition of each ingredient.
Lightly beat the eggs, pour over the meat mixture and mix lightly with your hands.
Sprinkle on the ice water and mix lightly to combine.
Gently pat into very large meatballs (I serve three per person)
Bake on a cookie sheet in a 400F oven for 30-40 minutes.
If you are stuffing tomatoes, you’ll use more meat for each one – extend the cooking time accordingly…this has the advantage of giving the tomatoes time to roast and collapse a bit.
Aubergines Farcies au Quinoa – Eggplant Stuffed with Quinoa
4 medium eggplants, 10 oz each
1 tablespoon olive oil + 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
5 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup white wine
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 cup quinoa (available at health food stores and many large supermarkets)
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cinnamon
Small handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
8 oz. soft goat cheese
Fresh cilantro, ripped by hand
Choose eggplants that are firm, shiny and without blemishes – the smaller and heavier, the better.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Rinse the eggplants and pat dry. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Prick five or six holes in each eggplant with a fork to allow steam to escape. Rub the surface of the eggplants with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake for 1 hour, until the flesh is tender.
Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and sugar, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the white wine, lower the heat to medium/low and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove ¾ cup of tomato sauce from the pan and set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add quinoa, bring back to a boil. Cover tightly, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until water is absorbed. The quinoa should have the consistency of couscous. Fluff with a fork and leave to cool.
When the eggplants are done, drain any liquid from the baking sheet and let the eggplants cool slightly. Make a 4 inch cut in the top of each eggplant and carefully scoop out most of the flesh without piercing the skin. Put the eggplants shells in a shallow casserole dish (you will stuff these later). Put the flesh in a colander, pressing firmly with the back of a fork (or your hand) to drain any excess liquid. Season the flesh with salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon.
Chop the seasoned eggplant flesh into small chunks and add to the tomato sauce along with a small handful of cilantro. Heat through. Add the quinoa, stir to combine.
Stuff the eggplant shells with the quinoa mixture, they should be heaping. Top each eggplant with a spoonful or two of your reserved tomato sauce. (You can refrigerate the eggplants at this point. Reheat at 350°F, tightly covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Proceed as below.)
Set the oven to broil.
Top each eggplant with two slices of goat cheese. Cook on the middle rack of the oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese is softened and beginning to color.
Sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Serve with a large green salad.
Serves 4
I do enjoy torturing my husband. On our way up to Boston for a friend's wedding this weekend, I tried to get him to eat a Devil Dog. I do this occasionally - try feeding him Twinkies or Twizzlers or orange mac and cheese out of the box, just to give him a glimpse of my all American childhood. After all, shared cultural references are important in a marriage. So when we stopped for a bottle of water, I thought I'd try my luck with Hostess cakes. Getting a Frenchman to eat anything from a US highway rest stop is a bit of a stretch, but when you put it under plastic, and let him see the expiration date in 2038, failure is almost guaranteed. I love him anyway. 
Thank you to friends and fans for Boston restaurant recommendations. The Neptune Oyster Bar was at the intersection of several lists. Your oyster picks go clockwise from the lemon. (I do like a restaurant with a well oiled system in place.) Our clams with garlic and white wine were simple, plump and briny. The baby octopus with Israeli couscous was a treat - it's a texture I adore - totally unavailable in France. The highlight of the evening was "Neptunes on Piggyback" - toasts of duck confit and spicy mayo topped with a juicy fried oyster, served with on a bed of marinated raisins and topped with a tangle of delicate greens.
Things I hate: Secondary passport control. Being talked down to: two days ago I saw an ad for the TV show "The Tudors" with the tag line "Jonathan Rhys Meyers is King Henry 8". Pardon my French, but 