meats – Page 6 – Trust in Kim: an ad-free recipe blog!

Greek Meatballs

These tasty meatballs were served up recentlyas an appetizer at a birthday party. I served them with some pita and homemade tzatziki. They are really delicious, and really easy to make. I mixed them up a few hours before the party, then fried and served them hot. These would also be great in pita sandwiches for lunch with a Greek salad on the side.

I got the recipe here.

You need to plan ahead if you’re going to make your own tzatziki, as the yogurt needs to be drained for a few hours. The garlic flavour also improves after sitting for a while.

What you need for the meatballs:

1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
2 to 3 pieces bread, crusts cut off, soaked in milk and then squeezed
2 eggs, beaten
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoon fresh mint
2 to 3 green onions, finely chopped
Tiny pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Olive oil, as needed

What you do for the meatballs:

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl by mixing with your hands.
Heat a frying pan or well-oiled grill on high heat.
Form the mixture into about 24 balls, then flatten them slightly. Reduce the heat and fry each one for about 12 minutes, flipping once.
Serve them hot with the pita and tzatziki sauce.

What you need for the tzatziki:

2 cups yogurt, (I use whole milk yogurt)

cheesecloth for straining

1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you like it really garlicky)

1/2 english cucumber, grated

salt and pepper to taste

fresh mint, optional

What you do for the tzatziki:

1. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night to and allow it to drain. Pour off the liquid that is drained.

2. Grate the cucumber and squeeze it so you get as much liquid out of it as you can. Add this to the thickened yogurt.

3. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and optional mint. Mix it all up. I like to remove it from the fridge at least an hour before serving.

Now I just need to learn to make pita bread…

Lemon Chicken Scaloppine in Pine Nut-Parmesan Crust

This is comfort food at its best. It is a beautiful breaded chicken, but with much more complex flavours than most recipes I’ve seen. I’ve made this for company a few times, and it always gets rave reviews. In the past I’ve served it with a risotto or another rice dish, but this time it was with a spinach salad and tomato-pesto-topped buckwheat noodles. Gotta say, I think this is the best pairing yet.

The recipe comes from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook; I just cut down on the amount of the flour and bread crumb mixtures because there is always way too much left over, and I cut the fat in half.

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

2 lemons (or one if you don’t mind serving the meal with zest-less lemons)

zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (go for a good quality one, not the pre-shredded stuff)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped pine nuts

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon butter (or one extra of olive oil of you’re aiming to be more heart-healthy)

1 tablespoon olive oil

What you do:

1. To prepare the coatings you will need 3 large plates. In one combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper.

2. Onto the next crack the eggs and beat lightly with a fork.

3. One the third plate combine the lemon zest, bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, Parmesan, pine nuts and basil.

4. Place the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper and pound with the dull side of a meat mallet (or a rolling-pin, or even an empty wine bottle might work) until they are 1/4 inch thick. Aim for an even thickness throughout the breasts so they cook evenly.

5. The cooking goes quite quickly, so make sure the rest of your meal is pretty much ready to go. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Coat both side of one chicken breast in flour, then egg, then the bread crumb mixture. In the last plate you can press the chicken breast so it is sufficiently coated. Repeat this process with the rest of the chicken breasts.

6. Heat a large frying pan to medium and add 1.5 teaspoons butter and 1.5 teaspoons of olive oil. When the pan is hot add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until they are golden brown and cooked through. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil to the pan and cook the remaining breasts.

7. Squeeze a wedge or two of lemon over the chicken, then serve with a wedge of lemon on the side.

Enjoy!

Bubbat – Mennonite Raisin and Farmer Sausage Bread

My Oma always made this bread for holiday feasts, so I’m giving it a try for Thanksgiving dinner. While delicious, this version doesn’t seem a lot like hers, but she never used a recipe, so the secret is lost. I think she probably added a whole bunch of chicken fat.

I found several recipes in the Mennonite Treasury, that great cookbook that holds so many of the traditional recipes. I used a combination of two recipes, choosing to use a yeast-raised version. I mainly used the recipe for ‘Bubbat (with sausage)’ submitted by Mrs. Herman Neufeld. Poor dear, with no first name of her own! To her recipe I added the raisins and prunes, some butter, and used much less sausage than the 1&1/2 pounds the recipe called for. I set aside a bit of batter to make a small vegetarian loaf before mixing in the sausage.

What you need:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 package (2 & 1/4 teaspoons) yeast

1 egg

1 &1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

3 & 1/2 – 4 cups flour

2 cups raisins and chopped prunes

2 cups chopped farmer sausage (if you’re in the Fraser Valley near Vancouver, the best is from Rempel Meats)

What you do:

1. Heat the milk until it just boils, then let it cool.

2. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar into some lukewarm water then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let this sit for about 10 minutes, until it gets foamy. If it doesn’t do anything that means your yeast is dead.

3. Once the milk has cooled, add the yeast, a beaten egg, melted butter and salt to it. Stir in the flour to make “a soft dough that can barely be stirred with a spoon.” I think this means it is soft but firm… do what feels right! Add the raisins, prunes and farmer sausage.

4. Grease a large loaf pan very well with butter and pour the dough into it. The cookbook asks for lengths of sausage to be pressed into the top, so you can do this if you want more meat in there.

5. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour. The cookbook does not specify, but I think it’s a good idea to put a clean tea towel on top of it.

6. Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 375F and bake for 45 minutes.

One recipe says to serve it hot, but I don’t remember having it that way, so you can remove it from the tin to let it cool if you want, or serve it right away with some butter.

Romertopf Roasted Chicken

Ah, roast chicken, comfort food and so easy to make. Of course you can just go buy one from the grocery store… or you could fill your house with the scent of roasting chicken and treat the ones you love to something homemade. I made mine in a Romertopf, a clay roaster with a lid that you soak before using, but you can make it in any covered roasting dish. The Romertopft keeps the chicken really moist, and you can just throw the chicken with some herbs, potatoes and veggies into your oven and forget about it while you get other parts of the meal ready.

What you need:

a chicken, preferably free-range

1-2 tablespoons room temperature butter (or olive oil)

thyme (preferably fresh)

rosemary (preferably fresh)

sage (preferably fresh)

paprika

salt

pepper

1 head of garlic

small potatoes halved

pearl onions, or a large onion cut into chunks

dry white wine, optional

What you do:

1. If you are using a Romertopf soak it for at least 15-20 minutes before using. This provides some moisture for the cooking process, and keeps the roaster from cracking.

2. Spread the butter all over the skin of the chicken.

3. In a bowl combine a little of each of the thyme, rosemary, paprika and pepper, and a liberal amount of salt. Rub this into the skin of the chicken. If you have fresh sage or thyme you can put some under the breast skin, along with a few cloves of garlic.

4. Distribute the potatoes and a few onions in a layer on the bottom of the roaster, then place the chicken on them, breast side up. If you have any more potatoes and onions you can put them in around the edges of the chicken with the rest of the garlic. If you have some white wine on hand you can add a few splashes of that.

5. Place the cover on the roaster, then put it in a cold oven – this is important to prevent the romertopf from cracking when it goes into a hot oven. If you are using a different roaster you can preheat the oven. Turn the temperature to 4ooF and set the timer for 1 & 1/2 hours. You can leave it to cook without peeking; this will help keep all the moisture inside.

6. After the 1 & 1/2 hours of cooking time, remove the roaster from the oven. Test to see if it’s cooked all the way through by cutting into the leg joint to see if the juices run clear. If not, return it to the oven for a little longer. As well, if the skin doesn’t look browned, pop it back in without the lid and let it brown a little. Once it is done let it sit with the cover on for about 20 minutes before carving. I like to ladle a little of the juices over the chicken, and you could also make a gravy with the juices.

I keep the bones and excess juices in the freezer for a day when I want to make a stock.

Brick Oven Pizza – Olive and Chorizo

This beautiful pizza was baked in the brick oven that my Opa built decades ago at the family cabin that he loved so much. It’s not a fancy place, and this oven is small, but it holds a lot of memories. I spent many summers playing hide-and-seek in the woods and cards inside in the evening, fishing, and eating what we caught alongside Oma’s amazing bread. We never made pizza in the brick oven; that’s a tradition I started a few years ago when I visited the cabin with friends. My grandparents are gone now, and my summer friends and I are all grown up and most of them have stopped going to the lake. As far as I know nobody else uses the old brick oven, but baking in it makes me think about my grandparents and all the good times we spent in this place.

This is the best pizza I’ve ever made. The crust takes a bit of planning ahead, but the sauce and toppings are easy. I found the recipe for the crust and sauce in A16 Food and Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren.

This recipe makes enough for about 4 medium-sized pizzas with a thin crust. I made a variety of toppings for mine.

What you need for the crust:

1/4 teaspoon yeast

1 & 1/2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups “oo” flour or all-purpose (I used all-purpose)

What you need for the tomato sauce and toppings:

one 28-ounce can of tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them)

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 link of cured chorizo sausage

small black olives

1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, bashed up a little with a mortar and pestle

about 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

What you do:

1. Begin preparing the dough a day before you want to make the pizza. You can do this by hand, but it’s just a bit more work. Pour the water into a mixer with a dough hook and then sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it for about 10 minutes and it should become foamy – if it doesn’t your water was the wrong temperature, or the yeast is dead. Stir in the olive oil and salt. Add the flour and mix on low for 2 minutes. Knead on medium-low for about 10 minutes – it will pull away from the bowl and begin to look smoother. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. Knead once more on medium-low for 10 minutes – it will be smooth and quite soft. If it seems much too sticky you can add a little more flour. Coat a bowl with a little olive oil and then coat both sides of the dough with olive oil, placing the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night.

2. In the morning remove the dough from the fridge and punch it down. Fold the sides of the dough under and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm (not hot) place until about 2 hours before you need it.

3. Punch the dough down and divide it into 4 pieces. Form them into balls and cover them with a damp towel for about 2 hours. By this time the dough should have doubled in volume. If it starts to get a skin on it you can spray it with a little water.

4. To prepare the sauce, just put the tomatoes and juice into a bowl and squish them into little bits with your hands. Add the salt.

5. Cut the chorizo into thin slices and fry them briefly. I like to do this to get a bit of the fat out, but it isn’t a necessary step. Put the cut chorizo onto a paper towel to soak up excess fat.

6. Preheat the oven to 500-550 F.

7. To form the crusts, shape the dough into a disk with your hands. Push down in the centre with your palm and pull the dough out gently with your other hand, rotating slightly until you have a crust that is about 10-12 inches/25-30 cm in diameter with a slightly raised edge. (I cheated a little in the beginning and used a rolling-pin.) Dust your baking pan generously and place the crust on it. I don’t have a proper pizza stone or pan, but the cookie sheet I used worked just fine.

8. Spread some tomato sauce onto the crust, then sprinkle with the anise seeds. Add some chorizo and olives, then toss on a little cheese. Avoid over-topping your pizza, as it will end up soggy.

9. Bake for 6-7 minutes, until the crust is crisp and golden, and the top is bubbling. I made and baked the pizzas one at a time because the brick oven only fits one pan. This was a great way to do it, as it allowed us to sample each pizza as it came out of the oven, then tend to the next one.

Wait just a minute before eating so you don’t burn your mouth, then dig in!

Chorizo Pistachio Savoury Cake

This is a repeat recipe from a few summers ago. I’ve never repeated a recipe posting before, but I chose to share this again because:

A) It’s a great picnic food that you and your friends will adore

B) It’s super easy to make

C) I just made it and looked so delicious that I was inspired to share it

D) I have a new camera and would like to have a better image that fits the amazing quality of this recipe

What you need:

room temperature butter for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for the bottom of the pan

1 & 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

3 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup plain yogurt

85 grams or so of cured chorizo sausage, preferably one with a bit of spice to it

8 sun-dried tomato halves, finely diced

3/4 cup unsalted pistachios

1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)-you could substitute some onion or basil

What you do:

1. Spread the butter into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan. Toss the sesame seeds around in the pan until there is a layer of them over the bottom and sides. Preheat your oven to 350F.

2. Mix the egg and yogurt together in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and chili powder and stir it in, being careful to mix only until just incorporated.

3. Fold in the chorizo, tomatoes, nuts and parsley. Spread the batter into the loaf pan.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes and test with a toothpick to see if it is done. Let the loaf sit in the pan for about 15 minutes after you’ve taken it out of the oven before removing it to cool on a rack.

When it’s cool you can cut it into thin slices to serve. Apparently it keeps for a few days on the counter, but if I have leftovers I prefer to wrap them in plastic wrap and either store in the fridge, or freeze for later use. It tastes best at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge with enough time in advance of eating to allow it to some to room temperature.

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz’s website, and he adapted it from Clotilde Dusoulier’s Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook.

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers

The other day the sun was shining, so we wanted to make something to go on the barbecue. We ended up frying these turkey burgers on the stove-top because we wondered if they would hold together on the grill. In retrospect, after we let them sit while waiting to cook them, they ended up holding together quite well. I would recommend oiling the grill really well if you’re going to barbecue them. The original recipe, in Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenhi, says you can get 18 burgers out of this recipe. When he says burgers, he means tiny little meatballs 9which would probably make a great appetizer). If you are making a real burger, the kind with the regular-sized bun, you can make more like 4-6 patties.

Now, about the taste – so good! So juicy! And healthier than a lot of other barbecue options. The sumac and sour cream sauce is excellent. The original recipe doesn’t have green onions in it, but I had a happy accident when I added the green onions meant for the burgers to my sauce instead. So feel free to make the sauce with or without green onions. I also used only yogurt in my sauce; use 1/2 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup yogurt if you want to follow Ottolenghi’s recipe.

What you need for the burger:

500 grams ground turkey

about 2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

3 thinly sliced green onions

1 large egg

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

sunflower or vegetable oil for frying (unless you grill)

hamburger buns of your choice; I used focaccia buns

What you need for the sour cream and sumac sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt (just strained some of my homemade yogurt)

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 & 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sumac

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

2 green onions, chopped (optional)

What you do for the sauce:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and set aside until needed, refrigerating if it’s going to be a while before you use it.

What you do for the burgers:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the meat patties, except for the oil for frying. Mix with your hands and form into patties.

2. If you are pan-frying, preheat the oven to 425F. Pour a little oil into the pan, heat over medium until hot, then add the patties. Sear each side until it is nice and brown, then put the pan into the oven (or on another surface if your pan can’t go into the oven) and let them bake for 5-7 minutes. In the meantime you can be toasting your buns, if you wish.

3. Serve with some of the sauce on top, and a salad on the side. Some options are found here and here.

Check out this posting if you want to see how to re-grow your green onions.

Pollo Asado al Carbon – Barbecue Chicken Mexican Style

On my recent holiday in Mexico I saw and smelled this awesome barbecued chicken at roadside stands, but whenever we happened to be near one, it was around breakfast time and I really wasn’t in the mood for chicken. One day, shortly before we came home, I found this place called Polleria Alba just down the road from our apartment in Tulum. They’ve got a barbecue outside and then some tables inside and outside of a garage. I ordered chicken for one, and out came this huge portion – a whole chicken on one plate, and a platter of rice, pasta and salad on another, and some fresh tortillas. It was amazing, so I promised myself I’d learn to make it at home. I found a recipe on this site. It’s pretty easy to make, and surprisingly moist, even the breast. I served it with Mexican rice and beans, with various sauces. And Mexican beer, Negra Modelo, my fave.

What you need:

1 roasting chicken

1 & 1/2 tablespoons ground ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn’t use these because I didn’t have any)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. salt

What you do:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade.

2. Start the barbecue.

2. Rinse and then pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Turn the chicken so it is breast-side down. Cut through the middles of the back, then turn the chicken breast-side up. Give it a bang with your fist so it lies flat. You are going to barbecue the chicken whole. (see terrible picture below)

3. Spread some of the marinade all over the chicken and let it sit until the barbecue is smoking hot. Place it breast-side up on the barbecue. Let it roast for about 45 minutes with the lid down. Baste with the marinade every 10 minutes. It’s really important to leave the chicken alone, other than the basting, so don’t go flipping it or anything. When it is done,you can turn it breast-side down for a few minutes to get some colour if you want, but I found it was nicely browned from facing up the whole time.

4. To make sure it’s done, pierce the thigh with a fork and check if the juices are clear; if not, leave it on for a little longer. Remove the chicken from the barbecue to a serving plate and cover with foil for 10-15 minutes so the juices can settle back into the chicken, then carve it up!

Inside the chicken restaurant in Tulum, Mexico

Chicken Marbella

Being a lover of olives I knew after my first taste of this chicken dish at a wedding that I would one day have to make it myself. I’ve actually made it a few times now, but just haven’t had a chance to post the recipe – so here goes!

The olives and capers make it a little salty, and the prunes and figs balance it out with a little sweetness. It’s a big recipe, serving 6-8, and it’s a great one to make the night before you’ve got company, then pop in the oven an hour before dinner is served.

The recipe is from the Whitewater cookbook.

What you need:

5 lbs chicken pieces (I don’t like to use breasts as they come out a little dry)
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup prunes, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup dried figs, chopped into quarters
1/4 cup green olives (I used extra)
1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons parsley (garnish)

What you do:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the parsley and marinate the chicken overnight in the fridge. Turn the chicken pieces once in a while to coat them.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F and bake the chicken with the marinade for 50 minutes. Baste frequently. It should be a deep golden brown colour when it’s done.

3. Garnish with parsley when serving.

I like to serve it with a nice crusty loaf of bread. And if you don’t have a lot of people eating, it’s great for leftovers.

Mennonite Cabbage Borscht

A little while ago I posted a recipe for my Mom’s borscht. While this is a great soup recipe, I recently found out it’s not actually her recipe. Oops! So this is really my mom’s borscht recipe; it’s on the same page of The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, the bible of Mennonite cooking. The real difference is that this one has a can of tomato soup; not very old-world traditional, but it’s the yummy soup I grew up with. A lot of people think borscht has beets, but the beetless version is part of the Mennonite culinary tradition.

My mom makes a few changes when she cooks it: she doesn’t always use potatoes, and she usually adds some carrots. As well, she doesn’t use cream, but adds yogurt while serving.

It is best to make the broth a day ahead of time so it can cool, and the fat can be removed.

What you need:

2 lbs of beef meat and bones (or a combination of beef and chicken)

1 large onion, chopped

1 small head cabbage

3 carrots, chopped

a few tablespoons of fresh dill

1 can tomato soup (I used Campbell’s)

salt to taste

plain yogurt for serving

What you do:

1. To make the broth, cover the bones and meat with cold water and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Strain the broth and let it cool. Remove the meat and pull it into bite-sized pieces. Put the meat and broth in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

2. Remove the cold fat from the top of the broth and discard it. Pour the broth into a large pot and bring it to a low boil.

3. Add the chopped onions, meat, cabbage, carrots and dill and let it summer until the vegetables are tender.

4. Add the tomato soup and let it heat, then add salt to taste.

5. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

This soup freezes well, and makes a big batch for leftovers or for sharing.

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