3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cups pine nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)
2 medium leeks white part only, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 pound ground lamb
2 eggs, lightly beeten
1/3 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 28-ounce cans Italian peeled tomatoes and their liquid
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 bunches of Swiss chard (about 3 pounds), large stems discarded and small stems chopped.
1. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the pine nuts and cook, shaking the pan, until the nuts are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the toasted pine nuts to a plate to cool.
2. In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the leeks for about 1 minute. Drain the leeks in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool and drain. Finely chop the leeks in a food processor. Add the ground chuck and lamb in the processor to blend.
3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add 1/2 of the toasted pine nuts, the beaten eggs, bread crumbs, cumin, allspice and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Mix well using a fork and form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate to firm up the meatballs slightly for about 30 minutes.
4. In a food processor, puree the tomatoes and their liquid.
5. In a large sauce pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderately high heat. Place the flour in a medium bowl and dredge the meatballs, shaking off any excess. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook, turning until nicely browned all over for about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer plate and fry the remaining meatballs in the remaining butter. Return the first batch of meatballs to the casserole.
6. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water, the pureed tomatoes and the lemon juice and bring them all to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat for about 20 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in the Swiss chard and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Before serving, sprinkle the remaining toasted pine nuts on top.
So this recipe was adapted from The Best of Food & Wine 1995 Collection. So one day I was driving down Georgia Ave. and I saw a Thrift Store that I had not been to in ages. So thinking about my blog I stopped in and found this cookbook (along with a pair of Banana Republic wool pants that I loved but were just a little bit too short, I guess that is the price you have to pay for a pair of $5.00 pants.)So Food & Wine magazine is the creme de la creme of magazines that would most likely scare anyone that is not a seasoned cook. It is so much that I don't even subscribe to it. But for $1.50 I was gonna buy this book and see what I could make from it. Wouldn't you know it there were several recipes that I felt truly comfortable trying. This being one of them. So on to my critique....... Kick ass food!!!! I did spend a little more time in the special food store to find the Swiss chard but it was so worth it. So I did make a few adjustments that should be noted. I did reduce the amount of pine nuts and only included them within the meatballs and reduced the amount of leeks that are recommended for the recipe. I am not a big fan of "nuts" so that is why the reduction was made. Also instead of using water as the recipe called for I used a beef broth. But outside of that..... I and my co-workers loved it!! I must make a point that my co-workers are my guinea pigs as I am a single man and most of these recipes serve 6 to 8, and I damn sure cannot eat all that shit in one week. So on Monday morning's they get to see me come up the stairs with a shopping bag full of "samples" for them. The Swiss chard was a really nice change of taste instead of the usual greens that you get at dinner time. The whole thing was like a meatball soup but really chunky. I thought it was fantastic. So until next time......
3/4 cups pine nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)
2 medium leeks white part only, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 pound ground lamb
2 eggs, lightly beeten
1/3 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 28-ounce cans Italian peeled tomatoes and their liquid
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 bunches of Swiss chard (about 3 pounds), large stems discarded and small stems chopped.
1. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the pine nuts and cook, shaking the pan, until the nuts are toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the toasted pine nuts to a plate to cool.
2. In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the leeks for about 1 minute. Drain the leeks in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool and drain. Finely chop the leeks in a food processor. Add the ground chuck and lamb in the processor to blend.
3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add 1/2 of the toasted pine nuts, the beaten eggs, bread crumbs, cumin, allspice and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Mix well using a fork and form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate to firm up the meatballs slightly for about 30 minutes.
4. In a food processor, puree the tomatoes and their liquid.
5. In a large sauce pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderately high heat. Place the flour in a medium bowl and dredge the meatballs, shaking off any excess. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook, turning until nicely browned all over for about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer plate and fry the remaining meatballs in the remaining butter. Return the first batch of meatballs to the casserole.
6. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water, the pureed tomatoes and the lemon juice and bring them all to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat for about 20 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in the Swiss chard and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Before serving, sprinkle the remaining toasted pine nuts on top.
So this recipe was adapted from The Best of Food & Wine 1995 Collection. So one day I was driving down Georgia Ave. and I saw a Thrift Store that I had not been to in ages. So thinking about my blog I stopped in and found this cookbook (along with a pair of Banana Republic wool pants that I loved but were just a little bit too short, I guess that is the price you have to pay for a pair of $5.00 pants.)So Food & Wine magazine is the creme de la creme of magazines that would most likely scare anyone that is not a seasoned cook. It is so much that I don't even subscribe to it. But for $1.50 I was gonna buy this book and see what I could make from it. Wouldn't you know it there were several recipes that I felt truly comfortable trying. This being one of them. So on to my critique....... Kick ass food!!!! I did spend a little more time in the special food store to find the Swiss chard but it was so worth it. So I did make a few adjustments that should be noted. I did reduce the amount of pine nuts and only included them within the meatballs and reduced the amount of leeks that are recommended for the recipe. I am not a big fan of "nuts" so that is why the reduction was made. Also instead of using water as the recipe called for I used a beef broth. But outside of that..... I and my co-workers loved it!! I must make a point that my co-workers are my guinea pigs as I am a single man and most of these recipes serve 6 to 8, and I damn sure cannot eat all that shit in one week. So on Monday morning's they get to see me come up the stairs with a shopping bag full of "samples" for them. The Swiss chard was a really nice change of taste instead of the usual greens that you get at dinner time. The whole thing was like a meatball soup but really chunky. I thought it was fantastic. So until next time......
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