Meatballs with Pecorino Romano

(4 servings)

This weekend I hit Sprouts Market with my shopping list and returned home with a completely different set of items than I planned on. It was the Romano cheese that tripped me up. Seeing it triggered memories of meatballs from years ago which had contained copious amounts of this delightfully salty and sharp cheese. My plans for shrimp cakes went right out the window. Perhaps next week.

Whenever I make meatballs, I'm inclined to brown the onions first before adding them to the meat and then I brown the meatballs before adding those to the sauce. This time I decided to skip both steps. I minced the onions quite fine, and dropped the formed meatballs directly into the sauce. This not only saved time but it also omitted the oil which would otherwise have been used for the frying. I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

If you have a food processor (for chopping the onions and parsley and making the breadcrumbs) and a stand mixer (for combining the meatballs), this will go very quickly. I had everything in the pot in under 15 minutes. If you don't have those tools, this recipe will still be quite manageable.

sauce
1 24oz jar Marinara Sauce
1/2 cup red wine or beef broth

a few pinches red pepper flakes

1 red bell pepper, washed, seeded and diced

meatballs
1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

small handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup milk
1 large egg

freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Combine the sauce, wine or broth, pepper flakes and bell pepper in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Cover the pot and set it over a low flame while you prepare the meatballs.

Place the beef, garlic, onion, parsley (set a small amount aside for garnish, if desired), Romano, bread crumbs, milk, egg and cracked pepper into the large bowl of a stand mixer or just a large bowl. If you are using the stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment and run on slow speed for about a minute until the mixture is evenly combined. If you are doing this by hand, then just work everything together with a large wooden spoon or your hands.

The meat mixture will be quite moist, which is fine. Shape firmly (otherwise they might fall apart) into small meatballs about 2 inches in diameter and drop them into the sauce. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't completely cover them.

Cover the pot and cook for about 60-75 minutes over the lowest flame. Check the meatballs after 30 minutes and gently turn them over with a large spoon. If there's too much sauce after an hour or so, remove the lid and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened a touch.

Serve with cooked pasta or rice. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Easy Pickled Beets with Orange & Ginger

(about 2 pints)

The markets in Dallas are filled with beets at the moment. They happen to be one of my favourite vegetables. Their earthy flavour and amazing vivid colour make them difficult for me to resist.

This time I decided to add orange juice and fresh ginger after seeing orange and ginger beets at the salad bar at WF. This recipe makes a small quantity of pickled beets to be consumed within a week.

2 lbs beets
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white balsamic or cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 tsp salt
6-8 whole peppercorns
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven 350°F.

Wash the beets, cut off the tops (save these for another use) and place them in a single layer in an ovenproof dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake the beets for about an hour or a bit longer until they can easily be pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and cool.

Slip off the skins/peels and slice the beets into thin slices. Place the beets into a large nonreactive bowl.

Place the onions, vinegar, orange juice, salt, peppercorns and ginger into a stainless steel saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, adjust the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes.

Pour this over the sliced beets and carefully toss until everything is evenly combined. Allow the beets to marinate for at least several hours or overnight.

They will keep refrigerated for about a week or so.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

(4 servings)

One thing I rarely do is to seed a cucumber. I have been told it's best to remove the seeds as they taste bitter, or they cause indigestion or they cause the salad to become watery.

In all honesty I have never found the seeds to be bitter tasting, nor have I gotten an upset stomach after eating them. I do agree they can add an extra quantity of liquid to a dish but this isn't usually an issue for me, especially in this type of salad.

1 large cucumber
3 tomatoes (about 1 lb)
small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1/2 lime or more to taste
salt and freshly cracked pepper

Wash and peel the cucumber if it has a lot of wax coating it. Cut into small dice and place into a non reactive bowl.

Wash and dice the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and chopped cilantro to the bowl as well.

Dribble the olive oil over the salad and start off with a small amount to freshly squeezed lime juice as well as a bit of salt and pepper. Toss the salad and adjust the quantities of lime, salt and pepper until you are happy with the balance and taste.

Allow to the salad to sit for a few minutes or more before serving. This gives the flavours a chance to meld a bit.

Veggie Shepard's Pie from BBC Good Food

(4-6 servings)

This is a recipe I have wanted to try ever since I first came across it. I love that it contains sweet potatoes without loads of butter or marshmallows or sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. It's a savory dish, packed with flavour.

Veggie Shepard's Pie turned out so much better than my expectations. I will be making this again soon, perhaps with mushrooms!

adapted from BBC Good Food
2 tsp olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced
1 large onion halved and sliced

1 stalk celery, diced
2-3 large carrots (about 1 lb), cut into sugar-cube size pieces
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 cup red wine

1/4 cup water
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable or 2 vegetable stock cubes

salt and freshly grated black pepper
1 3/4 cups frozen small green peas
2 lbs sweet potatoes, baked and cooled
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, about 1/4 lb

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium low and add the garlic. When it becomes fragrant, add the onion and fry until golden. Adjust the heat if necessary to keep the garlic and onion mixture from burning.

Add the celery, carrots, thyme (reserve a pinch for later), wine, water, diced tomatoes and the concentrated vegetable stock paste or cubes. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the carrots are almost done but still have a bit of a "bite" to them and the liquid has reduced to about 1/2 (give or take). Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

Stir in the frozen peas, and remove from the heat.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Spoon the carrot mixture into an oiled 2 quart casserole.

Remove the skin from the baked potatoes and mash them with a fork. Stir in the cheddar cheese (reserve a a pinch or two to sprinkle over the top of the assembled casserole). Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Spread the mashed sweet potato and cheese evenly over the carrot mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of the reserved thyme and a small amount of shredded cheese.

Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the top is golden and it's bubbling hot.