Lion's Head Meatballs from A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan

Just Arthur and I here again. With my mountain of new books, of course, cookbooks. *Sigh* they are my happy place. For some, it's handbags and shoes, for me, it's cookbooks. I can't help it. I also went to a beautiful book launch the other week with a friend and there were three very talented authors there who I follow on instagram, read their blogs and listen to their podcasts (multiple times over) so it was ONLY polite to buy all three books (A Tree in the House by Annabelle Hickson, A Basket by the Door by Sophie Hansen and Tortellini at Midnight by Emiko Davies). I left with my arms full, a delicious biscuit in hand (Golden Syrup Biscuits from Sophie's book) and a buzz in my tummy. Such a lovely afternoon that finished with an indoor picnic on my couch and chats. Pretty darn perfect if you ask me. I think we were both on a high from prosecco (only a glass!), cake and books.

There are also a few books from other bloggers and chefs that I've bought this year... I know, I know, shhhhh. (New Kitchen Basics by Claire Thomson, A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan and Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger) Some were from Christmas & Birthday too, calm down (Strudel, noodles and Dumplings by Anja Dunk and Family by Hetty McKinnon). I am practically bouncing with all the recipes I want to cook, but most importantly, EAT. Not enough time in the day or enough mouths at home to feed. I can fix the later of those two.

I am sitting here hungry writing this... mmmmm.

  

Green Chicken Meatballs

Ok where did January go? Who ate him?

and can it please be winter already??

For the past two months I've done nothing but complain and whinge about the weather. It's been sooo hot, muggy, sticky, stifling, hot, hair frizzingly awful, sweaty, coffee must now always contain ice, hot and have I said sticky yet? I wrote an entire post (then deleted it) about how I hate the hot weather and cooking in it. BORING!

So instead dreaming of our Sydney summer away which I have a tendency to do (right now Victoria and Tasmania are looking like a lovely place for a sea change) I thought I'd share a recipe that does not require an oven, great to share and so delicious that it'll change they way you eat chicken meatballs forever, or at least in 2017.

Green Chicken Meatballs from Bon Appetempt/Amelia and Teddy in the Kitchen.

These little morsels are so delicious and fresh, they are exactly what you crave in a meatball when it's hot and you want something light but still full of flavour. They use blitzed up chicken thighs instead of chicken mince so you don't get that loafy texture which means you can make them as chunky or fine as you like but also they don't have any additional bread crumbs in to stodgy them up, keeping them delicate. But it's the parsley, onion and parmesan that really make them delicious and summery and to be honest, completely moorish.

I cooked these in a frying pan and served them with a tomato pasta sauce and brown rice but these would be great by themselves or even as chicken patties on the BBQ with a salad, just be wary they are on the soft side and until sealed feel like they might fall apart on you.

If you're only going to make one meatball in 2017, make these them. You will thank me (and Amelia) for the advice - they are seriously good green chicken meatballs.

What's your go-to summer recipe for when it's too hot to eat but you can't curb your appetite for home cooking?

Green Chicken Meatballs

recipe by Amelia Morris from Bon Appetempt/Amelia and Teddy in the Kitchen

500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup loosely-packed, chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
tomato pasta sauce - store bought or homemade (see below)

Cut the chicken thighs into 2cm chunks and place them on a plate in the freezer for about 30 minutes, give or take.

Place the parmesan, parsley and onion in the food processor and blitz until everything is finely chopped. Add the egg, chicken, salt and pepper, and continue to blitz until the chicken is coarsely ground — not as fine as chicken mince as you don’t want chicken much, but until everything is about ½ a cm roughly.

Using a large heaped tablespoon as a guide, shape into approx. one-inch meatballs.

In a large non-stick frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. One by one, dredge the meatballs in the flour and add to the hot oil. Cook until brown on all over, turning as necessary for about 15 to 20 minutes.

When the meatballs are almost cooked, heat up the tomato pasta sauce ready to serve.

Serve these Green Chicken Meatballs with the tomato pasta sauce and a crunchy side salad/ brown rice/ pasta.

tomato pasta sauce -
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
2 clove garlic, crushed
splash of dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh herbs eg. basil, parsley or oregano (optional)
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a small saucepan, add your onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and fry until onions are translucent and fragrant.

Add your splash (or two) of wine, let it bubble for a couple of minutes then add your canned tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a simmer and let bubble away for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Taste and season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs.

Turkey meatballs with a simple tomato sauce.

We recently added a new member to our kitchen family. A microwave. It's actually very exciting even though it is one of those appliances which is a stock standard for some people. It was refreshing for a while not having one  - I felt like a bit of a rebel and I was determined it was better without... you know more bench space and... and... Ok lets face it, I was brought up with a microwave and I have missed the luxury and convenience of having one.

I can now soften butter for baking, defrost frozen meat in 10 minutes rather than 24 hours, warm milk up for a coffee in the actual mug (saving washing a pot up) and reheating leftovers are so much easier now for snacking! But the defrosting meat in minutes feels like such a revelation. The possibilities which are open to me as an unorganised cook during the week are now endless if I have a well stocked freezer and pantry. To say I'm excited is an understatement!

Early in the week I defrosted (still a novelty!) some turkey mince which had been floating around our freezer for a while as I never was quite organised to take it out the night before and I didn't feel like tackling a huge turkey ice cube in a frying pan to make some sort of sauce. I knew there were two recipes I have been wanting to try and it all depended what other ingredients I needed and had to which one I was going to make. Unfortunately I didn't have most of the ingredients for either recipe but with my now defrosted turkey mince and turkey meatball on the mind I thought stuff it. I can do this without a recipe.

Starting with a simple tomato sauce I fried off an onion and some crushed garlic in olive oil until soft then adding a splash of red wine which we didn't finish from the weekend and a can of chopped tomatoes brought it to a simmer. Adding a pinch of salt, pepper and half a teaspoon of sugar, I let it bubble away while I got on with the turkey-balls.

I placed a small brown onion, a couple of garlic cloves, a big handful of home grown parsley - stalks and all, a generous squeeze of lemon juice and a good splash of extra virgin olive oil into a small food processor and blitzed until it was a rough paste. Emptied it into a mixing bowl then used the same food processor (no need to wash it) and threw in some stale bread that had also been floating around my freezer and gave it a whizz to get some rough breadcrumbs. I then put the bread crumbs into the mixing bowl along with the (defrosted!) turkey mince, an egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mixed it all together then rolled them into golf ball sized balls ready for frying.

I panfried these in some olive oil on a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until they were dark golden all over and cooked through. I always have to open one up to make sure (I have a fear of serving raw meat) but I never mind because it also means you get to have a quick taste - a little reward for the cook. I served these with pasta and a good snowing of parmesan cheese but these would be great with some fresh crusty bread if you don't want another pot to wash up. They didn't take very long to cook, in fact the washing up took longer I think so if your blessed with a dishwasher I envy you :) ... the next appliance on my wish list... just need a bigger kitchen/apartment first!

Turkey meatballs with a simple tomato sauce.

Serves 4 (approx. 20 balls)

Turkey meatballs:
1 small brown onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
a hefty handful of parsley, stalks and all
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 slices of stake crusty bread
500g turkey mince
1 egg
a good pinch each of salt and pepper
3 tablespoons regular olive oil (or vegetable oil), for frying

Simple tomato sauce:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 clove garlic, crushed
a good splash of red wine - optional
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper

Pasta or fresh crusty bread
and parmesan cheese, to serve

- Start with your simple tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan then add your onion and garlic and fry until onions are translucent. Add your splash (or two) of wine, let it bubble then add your canned tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a simmer and let cook away wile your prepare the turkey-balls. Season with salt and pepper.

- In a small food processor put the onion, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and give it a good whizz until it becomes a rough paste. Empty into a mixing bowl. Next add your stale bread to the food processor (no need to wash the food processor) and whizz until it becomes rough bread crumbs. Pour that into the mixing bowl along with the turkey mince, egg and salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix using a fork making sure you don't have clumps of any ingredients anywhere.

- Form mince mixture into golf ball sized balls. This will make about 20.

- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add your turkey-balls, turning regularly so they cook even and until golden on all over and cooked through.

- Serve them along side the simple tomato sauce with pasta or some fresh crusty bread, a sprinkling of parsley and a generous snowing of parmesan cheese.

Eggplant and Porcini meatless 'meatballs' with tomato sauce.

The recipe I made last Tuesday is probably the evil twin sister of the previous recipe I posted. Lets just say there is more to it than throw it all together and bung it in the oven. This one is a labor of love.

Sometimes I really enjoy pottering around in the kitchen. Stirring a sauce here, doing a little frying there, while something is cooking away in the oven. It's like when you cook risotto, there is always pottering around the kitchen. A little stirring then another ladleful of stock and maybe roasting some vine tomatoes or making a pesto to stir through.

It's a labor of love.

Now it's not to say I haven't had some disasters over the years when I think it's all going to plan but end up eating at 10:30 (one time 11...eeekk) at night and being so sweaty and past hungry I feel like a train wreck. Not to mention the kitchen looks even more like a train wreck than I do. I have found the trick is not to get flustered. Yeh yeh easier said than done but if I keep my cool and just potter it's usually quite satisfying, a tastier dinner and I don't end up feeling like a train wreck at the end.

These Eggplant and Porcini meatless 'meatballs' with tomato sauce were such a success and an absolutely delicious one at that! They are definitely a labor of love and not a quick mid week meal but in saying that if you get home from work earlier then I do why not spoil yourself during the week and put in a little extra effort?

I got the recipe from blogger Amelia Morris from Bon Appetempt who found it in a magazine called Food and Wine. It's actually the first post I read from her blog. The link was part of The Wednesday Chef's Saturday links post back in October last year and I've been a huge fan ever since (I even went back and read most of her old blog posts...). If your a regular reader you've probably heard of me going on about her blog and her cooking show on youtube so I'll stop my ramble and just link everything here (you really should check her out!).

This dinner was actually incredible. I am still thinking about them a week later and not only did I thoroughly enjoy myself pottering around the kitchen and rolling garlicky eggplant balls but the taste was incredible. You get the robust flavours from the dried porcini mushrooms and garlic that work so well with the silky eggplant. Oh and the tomato sauce uses the porcini soaking water in it which turns it into a turbo tomato sauce that is packed with flavour. I loved this recipe and will be making it again for sure! I served it with crusty bread but it would work perfect with pasta too or even polenta.

The eggplant and porcini balls are just as delicious without the tomato sauce (I snacked on a couple while cooking them) and they would be a great appetiser or cold the next day on a sandwich is good too :)

Show a little labor of love this week or weekend and cook these for dinner... it's well worth it!

Eggplant and porcini meatless 'meatballs' with tomato sauce.

Serves 4
(Recipe from Food & Wine and Bon Appetempt)
Please note I have converted the recipe into metric measurements so they vary slightly from the original.

1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones (about 560g)
28g dried porcini mushrooms (I used 20g) **
boiling water
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
4  cloves garlic, finely grated
2x 800g cans of whole italian tomatoes, seeded and pureed with their juices (I used 2 bottles of passata)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil leaves, plus extra leaves for garnish
salt
freshly ground pepper
3 cups of fresh bread crumbs (from 170g crustless country bread)
2 large eggs, beaten
60g pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated, plus more for serving (I used parmesan)
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
plain flour, for coating
vegetable oil, for frying
crusty bread, for serving

- Preheat your oven to 350F or 180C.

- Prick your eggplant(s) all over with a fork and place on a baking tray. Roast in the centre of the oven for 1 hour, until very soft and collapsed. Let the eggplant cool slightly, then scrape the eggplant flesh into a bowl and let cool completely. Discard the skin (I was impatient so I stuck my hot eggplant flesh in the freezer for 15 min to cool down).

- Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, cover the porcini with 1.5 cups of boiling water and let stand until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain but reserve the soaking liquid. Rinse the porcini to remove any grit and extra dirt then finely chop the porcini.

- In a large casserole pot heat olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and half the garlic and cook on medium heat, stirring, until softened for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree (or passata) and pour in the porcini soak liquid but stopping before reaching the grit at the bottom of the bowl. Bring it to a boil and then simmer on low heat until thickened, about 1 hour. Add half the chopped basil and season with salt and pepper.

- In a medium sized bowl mix together the chopped porcini, bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, parsley, remaining garlic, eggplant flesh with 1 teaspoon of course salt and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.

- Line a baking tray with baking paper. Form the eggplant mixture into 20 balls (about 1 3/4 inches), rolling tightly. Dust the balls with plain flour and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

- In a non stick frying pan heat 1 cm deep of vegetable oil. Add half of the eggplant balls at a time and cook over medium to high heat, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towel. Add the eggplant balls to the tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish the meatballs with basil leaves and serve with extra grated cheese and crusty bread.

** I got the dried porcini mushrooms from Essential Ingredient online.

Meatballs from 'The Naked Chef'.

I'm a terrible blogger. I'm sorry.

Last week was full of birthday dinners, heart monitors and anxious thoughts that if I keep thinking about them too much I'll go crazy far sooner than a 25 year old should. So instead of worrying, I'm back to blogging.

Last Sunday I had one of my best friends over for dinner and I was super excited. I hadn't had anyone over for dinner in such a long time, it gave me an excuse to cook something that took a little bit longer and needed a little bit more labour of love put into it. And it was a Sunday night so shouldn't every Sunday dinner be a little special?

I picked out a Jamie Oliver book I hadn't blogged about yet. I'd made a few recipes maybe 2 years ago from it but then it was put back on the shelf and has gathered dust ever since. And thats not to say that it isn't a great book because let me tell you this. I LOVE YOUNG JAMIE OLIVER. He's so cheeky and happy and full of energy, there is almost a bounce in his step in his first TV show 'The Naked Chef' as he teaches people to cook for the first time in our lounge rooms and kitchens. But seriously, who doesn't have a soft spot for young Jamie and the now Dad Jamie who is still just as cheeky!?

You all know I'm a Jamie Oliver junkie and I wouldn't be a true junkie if I didn't have his very first book 'The Naked Chef'. In his first books its all about honest food and cooking for people you love, weather its a for a few people or a date night. I chose Meatballs because I wanted a safe, affordable recipe that I couldn't stuff up.

These were so delicious. Best yet! I did read the recipe wrong again and not all the way through first but that step was optional anyway so it was all good.

Also it does help that they were baked so I could do a quick spruce around the apartment before my dinner date came round and then all I had to do was cook some tagliatelle pasta when she was here. Easy Peasy dinner idea, and it can also feed more than three... We had leftovers for the next day and two lunches frozen for later in the week, so its great for a small crowd.

Give this recipe a go, you wont regret it! I promise!

The Naked Chef's Meatballs.

Serves 4-6

(recipe adapted slightly)

For the Meatballs: 

1kg beef mince

2 slices of bread whizzed into bread crumbs

2 level tbsp dried oregano

1/4 level tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 egg yolk

1 level tsp salt 

a good 2 pinches of freshly cracked pepper

- Place all ingredients in a bowl and give it a good mix with a fork or get into it with clean hands.

- Shape into balls (what ever size you feel like - I did big meatballs because they had time to cook in the oven but you can do any size you like - just remember the bigger they are, the longer they take to cook!) I made these tennis ball sized.

- Place on a plate and store in the fridge while you get on with the tomato sauce (see below).

Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce:

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

2 tsp dried oregano

3 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 small handful of fresh basil

salt and pepper

- Gently fry the garlic with the olive oil but don't let it colour. Add the chilli, oregano and tomatoes. Stir everything together. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30 - 45 minutes.

- Add the vinegar and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper and taste.

Putting it all together:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 handfuls of fresh basil

120g mozzarella cheese, in chunks

60g finely grated parmesan

400g pasta of your choice (optional)

- Preheat your oven to 200 C or 400 F

- Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom casserole pan on a medium heat (make sure it can also go in the oven) and add your meatballs. Fry them until they are brown all over but be gentle so you don't break them up.

- Turn the heat down and add all of the basic tomato pasta sauce. Cover and place in a preheated oven.

(Remember the bigger your balls the longer they'll need to cook. I baked mine for about 20 minutes, covered.)

- If serving with pasta, cook pasta according to packet instructions now so everything is ready together.

- Scatter the mozzarella, parmesan and basil over the top and bake for another 15 min or until the cheese is oozy and golden. Serve.

Jamie Magazine - Issue 17: Spaghetti and Meatballs.

I found some mince! Whoooraaah!! So I've been craving spicy meatballs for a few days now and since our noodle date was cancelled it meant that my meal plan for this week was messed up so I scavenged and found!

Not having access to my normal expanding bookshelf at the moment (we're house and dog sitting) I feel lost.... I looked in all the books I had copies of here and then in a couple of others that weren't mine and all the meatball recipes had a combination of meats and or had a fancy ingredient I didn't have or weren't the right meatballs I wanted. I wanted Spaghetti and meatballs tonight. Plain and simple... but do you think I could find a recipe with what was in my fridge and store cupboard easily... I suppose I could have improvised but that defeats the purpose of this blog and trying new things.

I looked online knowing I had all the Jamie Magazines at home and found a recipe for Spaghetti and meatballs. Since Jamie is one of my biggest food inspirations, I love young Jamie in 'the naked chef'!! I'm doing another Jamie Oliver recipe. This recipe is in his Jamie Magazine but by a woman called Georgia Levy and not by Mr Oliver himself. I read through it and yes it was another recipe which called for two types of mince. I decided to settle that the best meatballs are probably made with two types of mince and I am just going to have to suck it up and make it with the beef mince I had. It also wasn't spicy but that was easy enough to fix with a teaspoon of crushed dried chilli's.

There was one thing... I had always had an aversion to making meatballs with soggy bread in them, why? I'm not really sure. Just didn't like the idea of soaking bread and letting it get all squidgy and mushy. Why not just put those dried breadcrumbs you buy in the supermarket in them like my mother does? Her spaghetti and meatballs taste delicious so why change it? But as I am venturing into new undiscovered recipe land I decided to give up my aversion of soaking stale bread and did as the recipe said. It wasn't bad at all! I had expected to hate making them because of the texture when rolling them and squeezing the liquid out of the bread but it proved for some really tasty, soft meatballs.

Hmm... these photo's... I definitely have room to improve with props, styling and photography. Anyone got any tips??

Spaghetti and Meatballs by Georgia Levy in Jamie Magazine, Issue 17.
Serves 4
(Recipe adapted)

2 Garlic cloves (one crushed and one thinly sliced)
Olive oil
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
500g Beef mince
1 egg
1 small handful of toasted pine nuts
2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tbs grated parmesan
30g (approx.) of stale bread
400g spaghetti
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

- First soak your stale bread in some warm water for a couple of minutes. (If you have an aversion to this like I did, come join me and be a convert!)

- In a medium pot add the sliced garlic, dried chilli and some oil oil and cook till garlic is tender but not coloured. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and simmer on low.

- Squeeze the excess water out from your soaking bread and combine it with the crushed garlic clove, beef mince, egg, pine nuts, parsley, some salt and pepper. Mix it all up with your hands well and start shaping them into the size of a pingpong balls.

- Set a frying pan on medium heat with some olive oil and once the pan is hot add your meatballs and fry them until browned all over (do this in batches if you need to so you don't squash them too much).

- Once the meatballs are browned add them to the simmering sauce along with the sugar and cook for 10min.

- Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water till al dente.

- Taste the sauce and see if you need to salt and pepper it then serve piping hot meatballs and tomato sauce over your spaghetti and top with some extra parmesan cheese and freshly cracked pepper. mmmm yum!