Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Meatballs (Kofte) with Olive and Oregano Hummus

I prepared a meal last week in which every component was delicious enough for me to want to blog all about it. It consisted of a nice Tabbouleh salad, a potato side dish, and these truly yummy Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Meatballs with some Olive and Oregano Hummus to dip them in. The meatballs and hummus, as well as the tabbouleh, came from Cat Cora's most recent cookbook. I'm loving this book so far!

The hummus comes together in about 5 minutes flat, and it's amazing. I love the addition of salty capers and kalamata olives; you can decrease the amount of salt in the recipe and it still tastes just salty enough. I do my hummus a bit differently than most recipes instruct; I add less olive oil and then I throw in a bit of warm water to thin it out. My hummus still turns out smooth and creamy, but with less fat. I wrote the instructions to reflect my changes.

The meatballs have a really long ingredients list, but most of those ingredients are spices and I feel like they are all vital to the overall flavor of the meatballs. The recipe is very simple; as long as you have all your spice bottles or jars out and lined up when you are ready to assemble these, the prep time flies by. Cat instructs you to make your meatballs long and cylindrical, rather than perfectly round. That's because these meatballs are grilled, rather than fried or baked, and the heat needs to be able to cook the balls evenly from the bottom.

Though my meatballs were pretty spicy (I think because I had only hot paprika, rather than the sweet papriks called for in the recipe, and also because my freshly ground black pepper was a kicker!), they were packed to the brim with great flavors. They taste exotic, but familiar at the same time. With the hummus alongside, the meatballs were a huge hit with hubby and me. I'll blog separately about the Tabbouleh and potatoes, since four recipes in one post is a bit much! But below I am including the meatball and hummus recipes.

Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Meatballs
adapted from Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist
makes 12-15 meatballs

Ingredients
2 slices wheat sandwich bread, torn into pea-sized pieces
1 lb. ground turkey (dark meat)
1 small red onion, minced or grated
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. pure chile powder (I used pasilla chile powder)
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray, for coating meatballs
Nonfat Greek-style plain yogurt, for dipping (optional)
Olive and Oregano Hummus, for dipping (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat a gas grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat; allow to heat up for 30 minutes before you plan to cook.

2. Mix the bread, turkey, onion, all the herbs and spices, and salt together in a large mixing bowl with your hands or a wooden spoon. Divide the meat mixture into 12-15 equal portions. Shape each portion into a cylinder. Spray each meatball with a light coating of cooking spray.

3. If using an outdoor grill, cook meatballs over indirect heat; use only one grill burner and cook the meatballs on the opposite side of the grill. If using indoor grill pan, cook meatballs slightly to the side of the heating element.

4. Cook until slightly springy but firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with yogurt or hummus on the side.


Olive and Oregano Hummus
adapted from Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist
makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup tahini sauce
1 Tbsp. capers, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 Tbsp. warm water
1 cup pitted and halved kalamata olives

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except for the oil, water, and olives. Pulse until everything is finely chopped.

2. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil. Slowly add warm water until the hummus is the consistency you like best. Add the olives now and pulse once or twice to chop them, or fold them in separately so they will remain large pieces. The hummus will keep for 1 week, covered, in the fridge.

Mini Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

I wanted to post about this soup I made last week because we're heading into January, and I think we could all use something light, yet satifsying, right about now. I feel so weighed down by decadence after all those Christmas treats I've been inhaling this December. Not that there is anything wrong with holiday decadence! But going into the long winter months ahead, I feel like you can never have too many new soup recipes under your belt.

I adapted this one from a Rachael Ray recipe for stoup. That is her silly, made-up word for a soup that is almost as thick as a stew. Since I do not believe in calling soups or stews stoups, I chose to rename my version based on the changes I made to the original. Instead of using a combination of Mini Meatballs and Gnocchi (thereby making Rachael's a double dumpling stoup), I chose to go with mini meatballs and orzo, a pasta I absolutely love in soups. For some reason, I am not a huge fan of rice in soup, but I love noodles in there, so I feel like the small, long-ish shape of orzo is a good compromise.

The mini meatballs are made of ground chicken, and they have just enough Italian seasoning and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to make them super flavorful and creamy. That creaminess permeates the broth of the soup, making it feel richer and luxurious without adding a ton of extra calories. It's delicious and healthy; a perfect winter meal!

Mini Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

adapted from Rachael Ray

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 fresh bay leaf

Salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stock

1 pound ground chicken

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 lb. orzo

Crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat; add olive oil. Once oil is warmed, add the celery, onions, carrots, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until the veggies are soft. Add the chicken stock to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, place the ground chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, nutmeg, egg, bread crumbs, and cheese. Combine the ingredients with your hands, then roll into walnut-sized meatballs (mine may have been a bit smaller than this) and add to the soup. Wash up, then add the orzo to the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat once the pasta and meatballs have cooked through and allow to sit for 2 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf, and serve in bowls with crusty bread on the side.

CEIMB Rewind: Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce

This week I decided to do a recipe rewind, and go back in time to late April, 2009, before I was a part of Craving Ellie in My Belly. This week's actual recipe pick was Ellie's Baked Beans with Ham, but I had to opt out this time. For one, I have been nursing a flu bug or something that has knocked me out a bit, so I haven't been cooking a whole lot these past few days. Even if I was feeling top notch, though, I'm not sure I would have made this. I've never been a fan of baked beans; maybe Ellie's version would have converted me though! If everybody's reviews of this are good, I may have to revisit it another week.



For now, however, I'm going to tell you about Ellie's Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce, from her book The Food You Crave. I've actually made this meal twice now, but when I made it most recently I finally photographed it so I could blog about it.

This is a wonderful interpretation of spaghetti and meatballs. I mean, sometimes when you make a healthier version of an old classic, you find yourself wanting for more. But not with this recipe. The meatballs are incredibly moist, thanks in part to the grated carrot and chopped onion inside. The veggies create that needed moisture, since ground turkey can be sort of dry otherwise. The sauce is classic but has a great spicy twist, thanks to some chipotle peppers for that awesome heat. The whole-wheat spaghetti is a great pairing with the sauce and the meatballs; hearty, and stands up to the strong flavors.

The first time I made this dish, which was over a year ago, my husband took the leftovers into work the next day. One of his coworkers tried some and demanded the recipe. When Andy told me this, I realized that this particular coworker had asked for at least 3 or 4 of Ellie's recipes before this. So, we ended up buying him her first cookbook for his next birthday. I just thought all of you CEIMBers would appreciate hearing that I had converted yet another Ellie fan to our ranks!

I hope everybody enjoyed the Baked Beans with Ham this week, and thanks to Danica of Danica's Daily for hosting.

To see the full recipe for the Turkey Meatballs and Sauce, click here.

Just Rollin' Along

Today was one of those proud days as a parent. It's Evan's 5-month birthday, and he decided to mark it by rolling over for the first time! He did it twice! Of course, the second time Andy, Xander, and I were crowded around him on the floor, and when it finally happened the three of us cheered like maniacs and scared the living daylights out of the baby, but that's okay. We were just really excited! He's getting ready to crawl, even though it should be another couple of months before he can. He really tries; he scoots his little butt upward and wiggles, inchworm-style, around so much that he ends up actually moving a couple inches or so. It's so cute.

I got a chance to do some leisurely cooking this afternoon, which was nice. I was kind of upset that I didn't take any pictures of it for you to see, because dinner turned out really great. Andy suggested I take some pictures of our empty plates once we were finished, because that is about the time that I remembered that I had wanted to take some pics. But how silly would that have been? Nobody wants to see that! At least, I don't think...

Anyway, I made some tomato sauce from scratch, and it turned out super. I made it healthier, from a recipe that is a clone of a Healthy Choice recipe. The key is adding a bit of sugar to the sauce. It cuts the acidity and really enhances all the flavors. I dropped some homemade turkey meatballs that had been frozen into the sauce, and let them simmer in it for about 2 hours. They turned out melt-in-your-mouth tender and juicy; so good! Then, on the side, we had pan-fried asparagus, sauteed in garlic, crushed red pepper, and then finished with some fresh cracked white pepper and parmesan cheese. Andy actually told me it was the best asparagus he's ever eaten! That's quite a compliment, considering we eat a ton of asparagus. It was so absolutely simple, too, but sometimes that is the best way to make food. I finished off the plate with rigatoni, to go with the sauce, and some bread. I was in comfort-food heaven. Xander liked everything, too, so right there dinner was a total winner in my book.

Too bad Evan didn't like his meal. It was his fifth or sixth day eating baby cereal, and he isn't liking it too much so far. He gets really cranky in the high chair and gets to a point where he just refuses to open his mouth for the spoon. When he does open his mouth, it's so he can cry, not eat. So you shovel more cereal into his face, and then he gets even more distraught. It's a vicious cycle, really. But I digress. The point is, I wish I could say that dinnertime was joyous for every member of my family, but it just was not to be.

The Wii Fit has been taking up a lot of our time now, which is good. We are turning into addicts, but we figure there are much worse things to be addicted to, and this is something we can actually be addicted to in front of the kids! So what if it makes us feel guilty and lazy if we skip a day? So what if it asks each of us questions about the other's posture behind his/her back? Who cares if it wonders if we trip over our own feet when we flunk the balance test? It's fun! I leave you tonight with some shots of my Mii, or virtual version of me on the Wii. She's even wearing her little workout clothes! Love it.