BEEF MEATBALLS with TABOULI

Tabouli is one of my favourite salads. My mother used to make it once a week when I was growing up and hers was always so fresh and zesty. She always chopped the parsley so incredibly fine and exuded such patience, which is something I am not good at. This is Michelle Bridges’ version of tabouli with meatballs. She uses 420g lamb mince, which works out to equal 350g beef mince in calories. Yes this recipe makes more meatballs using lamb mince, however friends of mine will know that I do not eat lamb, hence the swap. I changed some of the spices around and added sumac, a delicious Mediterranean spice that works beautifully with tomato. Baby spinach gives the tabouli some extra greenery.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup raw quinoa (67g) 
• 350g beef mince 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (2g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (1g)
• 1 teaspoon rice bran oil 
• 2-3 tomatoes (334g), finely chopped
• 1 lebanese or a small continental cucumber (135g), finely chopped
• 30g baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 1 green shallot (15g), finely chopped
• 2/3 cups fresh parsley (25g), roughly chopped
• the juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest 

Cooking 

1. Rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve under cold water twice. Place the quinoa and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes or until quinoa is tender and the water is all absorbed. Remove from heat. 

2. Meanwhile, place the mince, garlic and spices in a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and pepper and mix with your hands to combine. Mould the mince into small meatballs (it should make between 16-18 meatballs). 

3. Heat a medium to large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Place the meatballs in the pan and cook, rolling the meatballs around frequently to evenly brown every side, for 5-6 minutes or until cooked. 

4. Whilst cooking the meatballs, place the tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, sumac, shallot, green parsley and lemon zest & juice in a large bowl. Toss to combine. 

5. Divide the tabouli into two bowls and top with meatballs. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 20-25 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 20 minutes 

Total Calories / 520 per serve 

x Emily 

POLOPETTE / MEATBALLS

I get so so excited when my FEAST cooking magazine arrives in the mail every month. I’ve spent many a lazy afternoon pouring over my editions, thinking that one day soon I will try my hand at Peruvian cuisine, at creating a Chocolate Chilli Cake or at cooking a traditional Greek banquet. This SBS read has opened up my eyes to other cultures and their ways of life, traditions and of course, their food. Every edition a fortunate Australian family celebrates a ritual or cultural event from their heritage. This April issue the theme was Italian and the celebration was the annual Passata Day, a day in January where families come together to chop & boil tomatoes and bottle the delicious mixture, called passata, to consume throughout the year. This Polpette, or Meatballs, is just one of the Iuliano family recipes that I tried out and loved. If you are not dairy-intolerant feel free to use parmesan instead of pecorino, however I must admit that I much rather prefer the salty flavour of hard pecorino cheese to the 'smelly sock' taste of some parmesan cheeses! Keep your eyes peeled on the blog for more Italian delights coming soon. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean minced beef
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 a large leek, finely chopped
• 2 eggs, preferably free range, lightly beaten 
• 1/3 cup hard sheep's pecorino sheep, finely grated
• 1 heaped cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley & basil, roughly chopped, plus extra parsley and/or basil, to serve
• 700ml passata
• 1 x 400g diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
• 3 cups beef or vegetable stock (preferably Massell brand) 

PREPARATION 

1. Combine mince, garlic, leek, eggs, pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley & basil and a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper in a large bowl. Using clean hands, knead the mince mixture together until all ingredients are well combined. Shape approximately 2 tablespoons of the mixture into balls and repeat until all mince has been used. Place on a large plate/s or tray, cover and put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to sit. 

COOKING 

1. A few minutes before the meatballs have finished sitting, pour passata, diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water into a deep frying pan and bring to the boil. Add meatballs to the boiling liquid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through and the sauce has thickened slightly. (Whilst the meatballs are cooking, place rice in a medium saucepan and add 3 cups stock or water. Bring the boil and simmer, covered, over low heat for 8-10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and keep warm with the saucepan lid on top). Remove from heat and season. Serve meatballs on top of the rice or with pasta and scatter extra cheese and basil/parsley leaves on top if you wish. 

Makes / 22-24 meatballs

Total Preparation time / 20 minutes (plus 20 minutes to refrigerate meatballs)

Total Cooking time / 27-32 minutes 

x Emily

BAKED MEATBALLS

A scary dish when you look at all that it entails, however ‘Souzoukakia’ or Baked meatballs tastes delectable. A real winter warmer. This recipe was shared in the July Feast magazine by the head chef of Xanthi, an eclectic Greek restaurant in the centre of Sydney. Alas, all of David Tsirekas' childhood inspired recipes require quite a number of steps and ingredients, however they are well worth the labour in the kitchen for a special occasion. I cannot express how much my mouth waters when I think of his caramel baklava ice-ream, Turkish stuffed eggplant and homemade filo pastry with cheese and spinach filling. Oh but if I had time to cook all day, I’d be 500 pounds but I would be so satisfied. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean beef mince
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin & ground coriander
• 1 egg, beaten
• 100g polenta 
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary & dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup doongara rice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• coconut oil
• 1 red capsicum, finely chopped
• 400g red kidney beans 
• 100g reduced-fat feta cheese

Tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 810g diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander

COOKING 

1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Prepare a casserole dish by greasing it with coconut oil. 

2. Combine mince, paprika, 2 teaspoons ground cumin & coriander and egg in a medium bowl. Knead until combined, then set aside. 

3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add onion, garlic and rosemary & oregano and stir until onion is soft. Add rice, cinnamon stick, stock and 1 cup water. Simmer until low heat, then change to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes or until stock is absorbed, making sure the saucepan is covered. Remove the lid and remove the cinnamon stick. Leave to cool. 

4. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce by all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is slightly thick. 

5. When rice mixture is cool, add to mince mixture and stir to combine. Shape the rice & mince mixture into 20-24 even sized meatballs, dusting well with polenta. Place the meatballs into the prepared casserole dish, pour the tomato sauce and sprinkle the capsicum and kidney beans on top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, covered, then remove the lid and add feta cheese. Bake for a further 10 minutes, then remove and serve warm. 

Serves / 8

GOIUVARLAKIA GREEK SOUP

 I was in Melbourne last weekend for 24 hours; for a family gathering and an AFL game (two guesses where I was born?). I went down with my boyfriend Chris, who likes to take life kinda slowly and in his stride. I am the complete opposite. I seem to cut, scratch, spill, trip, wound or fall down on a regular occurrence as I am going too fast to notice inanimate objects around me. On Sunday morning, I was up and ready to start the 2 degree day, however Chris was not. So I pottered down to the hotel reception and picked up the first magazine I found- ‘Feast’ by SBS. And I fell in love. Who could not after skimming a magazine about food from cultures all over the globe? And the most mouth-watering, aesthetic photos of food. Long story short, I took/stole the magazine and poured over it on the flight home, immediately purchasing a year-long subscription online. My first recipe from Feast was Giouvarlakia Greek Soup, which is a scrumptious soup that contains beef & rice meatballs and a soup foundation made from avgolemono- a lemon and egg mixture. A truly remarkable soup, unlike anything I have tasted before - try it! 

(The Feast recipe has been altered somewhat below).

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean minced beef
• 3 eggs
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 a cup finely chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to serve 
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice (I used doongara rice)
• 1 litre (4 cups) beef stock
• 1 litre (4 cups) water
• 2 teaspoons oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 1 lemon, squeezed/juiced
• sea salt & black pepper

COOKING 

1.Place minced beef, 1 egg (lightly beaten), onion, garlic, parsley, rosemary, 1 teaspoon oil and sea salt & pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, combine the ingredients until mixed well. With slightly wet hands, form the beef mixture into 24-30 even sized meatballs. Place these on a large plate/tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

2. After the meatballs have been in the fridge for 10 minutes, place water, beef stock, 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Leave the liquid boiling for a few minutes and then reduce heat to simmer. Gently add meatballs and cook, covered, for around 15 minutes or until beef is all cooked through. Remove the saucepan from heat. 

3. Whisk 2 eggs and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add 60ml of the hot soup (a little over 1/4 cup) and whisk until mixed well. Stir the egg & lemon mixture into the big saucepan and return the pan to low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Take care not to let the soup boil, as the eggs will start to solidify. Remove from heat when cooked through and sprinkle with extra parsley, if desired. Serve warm.

Serves / 4 - 6 

Total Preparation time / 35 minutes (including refrigeration time)

Total Cooking time / 30 minutes 

x E

BEEF MEATBALLS

I have never been a huge fan of meat, particularly red meat. 

However, when doctors, friends and family all hassle you relentlessly to eat more of something, you do end up listening to them. My challenge is to make red meat cooking fun and taste unlike a dead poor cow. I was reading a food magazine last weekend when I came across an article in a food magazine titled ’10 Top Meatballs’. Looking through this wide selection of pork, veal, chicken, lamb and beef meatballs, I formed my own recipe. I've kept it very simple, however you could certainly add more herbs and spices, if you have these on hand. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean beef mince
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (amounts to 2 slices of gluten-free bread or 1 multigrain/wholemeal roll, processed in a blender)
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 free range egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano 
• pinch of ground black pepper
• Optional- 30g feta cheese, chopped or crumbled into small cubes
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil

COOKING 

1. Combine the beef, garlic, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, egg, oregano, pinch of ground black pepper and feta, if using, in a large bowl. To shape the meatballs, take around 2 tablespoons of mixture and shape into a circular ball. This is best done with your hands. Repeat to make around 24 (6 per serve) meatballs, placing them on a large plate. 

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil . Place as many meatballs as you can without crowding them into the pan and cook, for around 5-7 minutes on each side or until golden-brown and no red flesh remains. Remove from pan and place on paper towels to cool and remove excess oil. Repeat this process until all meatballs are cooked.

Serve with a filling salad. 

Serves / 4 

Makes / approx 24 meatballs

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes

Total Cooking time / 10-15 minutes 

x Emily