Lamb and feta meatballs

Ok, I know what you're thinking. I know. Perhaps a more appropriate name for this blog should be (at least at this stage) 'Meatballs, chicken and cake'.
'Meatball Lover'?
'Meatball Obsession'?
But you know what? I like meatballs. So I thought I'd spread the love and post another recipe. We're using lamb this time! Yes, you read that right. No minced turkey. Lamb!

So without further ado, I present lamb and feta meatballs with chickpeas and couscous.

To make enough for two very hungry people (or for a small crowd at a party) you'll need:

500g lamb mince (you can go for a lean version)
100 g feta cheese
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
120-150 g dry couscous
a small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt
pepper
olive oil, for frying

Start off by mixing lamb mince, salt, pepper, cumin and feta cheese. Form small meatballs and heat some olive oil in the pan.

Fry meatballs on medium heat until nice and brown; then, after about 3 minutes add onions, garlic and some chopped parsley. Toss the meatballs in the pan to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.


Prepare the couscous: place in a bowl and cover with hot water or stock. I find that 1 centimeter of water above the couscous level does the trick.

While the couscous is soaking up the water add chickpeas to the pan with the meatballs and stir. Simmer for another 5 minutes adding a tiny bit of water or stock so that the chickpeas don't get dry.

Serve on top of couscous with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and more feta cheese.

Now excuse me while I go to a meatball rehab.

Soft raspberry buns

I love baking with yeast. There's something oddly satisfying and exciting about watching a small ball of springy dough double in size into pillowy softness. Woah. Is 'pillowy' actually a word?

Not the most patient of people, I make an exception for baking with yeast. I learnt you just can't rush things. The yeast has to do its thing. It needs time. And warmth. A bit of sugar to start working. Be patient with yeast, the results are worth the wait.

While I always like to try new things, I have a few recipes that I always come back to. Totally foolproof. I already showed you a recipe for chelsea buns (this was actually the first recipe on this blog!); these raspberry buns are another staple.

The recipe comes from one of my favourite Polish food blogs: White Plate. I was mesmerised by the pictures and intrigued by the fact that mashed potatoes (yes, mashed potatoes!) were one of the ingredients. Long story short, these raspberry buns had to be tried. 

The potatoes make the dough very moist and the buns are equally tasty the next day. And don't worry, you totally cannot taste potatoes in the dough!

To make about 10-12 buns you'll need:

The dough

7g (1 sachet) fast action dry yeast

250 ml milk

100 g unsalted butter

450 g plain flour

100 g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

100-120 g mashed potatoes, cooled down

The filling

3-4 tbsp creme fraiche

1 tsp cinammon

2-3 tbsp light brown sugar

raspberries

1 egg, for glazing the dough

Start off by preparing the mashed potato - I used half of a big potato. Peel it, cut in smaller pieces and boil until soft. Drain, then put back in the pot and put on the stove on the lowest flame for less than a minute - you want all the water to evaporate. Mash the potatoes and set them aside to cool.

Gently warm the milk in a small pot. You want it warm, but not too hot.

In a small bowl, mix yeast with 1 tsp of sugar, 3-4 tbsps warm milk and 1 tbsp of flour. Set the mix aside in a warm place until it gets frothy.

While the yeast in the bowl is doing its job add butter to the pot with milk and warm through until it's melted. Set aside to cool.

Put flour, mashed potatoes, sugar, salt and melted butter with milk in a big mixing bowl. Add the yeast and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. 

You can either knead the dough by hand (for about 10 minutes) or use a mixer with dough hooks (I chose the second option - laziness!). The dough should be smooth and elastic. Place it in a greased bowl, cover the top of the bowl with cling film or clean tea towel and leave for 1-1.5 hrs until it doubles in size.

 Magic!

Once the dough is ready, tip it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and flatten to punch the air out. Roll it into a long sausage and divide into 10-12 pieces. Form little balls and place them on a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Leave some space between as the dough will be rising again.

Flatten the balls and use a shot glass (or another small glass) dipped in flour to make a dent in each ball of dough. 

Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl and place about a tsp of filling in the middle of each bun. Add about 3-4 raspberries and brush the edges with a glaze made with egg and a tbsp of water.

Set the buns aside in a warm place so they can rise again and double in size. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes in 200 C. The time will vary depending on the size of your buns. 

They taste best slightly warm with a glass of cold milk (or a milky latte!).

Instagrub and more

I forgot to post the instagram pictures last week, so you've got a double portion this week! If you want to follow me my username is marushka82. Happy Sunday!

Monmouth iced coffee - delicious

Moorish crunch salad with chicken

little treat

ice tea!

calamari

Cookie Monster ice cream in Muswell Hill

Favourite beer

Pulled pork wraps with salsa

Moroccan soup for lunch

yesterday's baking - recipe on Tuesday!

Sicilian aubergine fusilli

Once I find a dish I like I can eat it every week. For months on end. Exciting right? But that doesn't mean that I don't like to break the self imposed routine and cook something I never tried before. Most of the time I go for weird combinations, ingredients I would never dream of pairing with each other. Sometimes it's worth the risk, sometimes not (my husband's face says it all :) 

When I came across Thomasina Miers' recipe I was intrigued. Raisins and pasta? Raisins, capers and pasta?! That sounded weird. So of course I decided to make it and I'm happy to report it's delicious! There's a little sharpness coming from the vinegar (I'm not a huge fan so I reduced the quantity), sweetness from raisins, saltiness from capers and a bit of acidity from tomatoes. Try this if you're stuck in a rut and are tired of more traditional pasta dishes - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

To make enough for two you'll need:

fusilli pasta (3-4 large handfuls)

1 aubergine, cubed

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or minced

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp capers

2 tsp red wine vinegar

50 g raisins

half a container ricotta cheese

2 handfuls of pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan

1 tbsp dried oregano

salt, pepper

few mint leaves, finely chopped

olive oil

Finely chop onion, garlic and a deseeded chilli, then start frying in a large pan with 2 tbsps olive oil.

Chop aubergine into discs, then cubes and add to the frying pan. Fry on medium heat until aubergine softens - about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and oregano.

In a separate pan, fry raisins with a teaspoon of oil on low heat until they puff up, then add to the aubergine/onion mix with puree and tomatoes. Cook on a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes so that all the flavours come together, then add capers and red wine vinegar.

While the sauce is bubbling away cook pasta in plenty of salted boiling water, then drain and toss with the aubergine sauce until nicely covered.

Serve sprinkled with mint, pine nuts and dollops of ricotta. Yum.

Wednesday wishes

Recently pinned recipes

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And finally, something that made me laugh:

Awesome :)

Pea, mint and goats' cheese bruschettas

Continuing an Italian theme started by Bresaola salad earlier this week I present you with a recipe for incredibly tasty bruschettas. I was inspired to make these by one of my friends - thank you Scott, I hope you're reading this!

These beauties are perfect if you want to impress your guests (or yourself) - they look and taste like you spent hours slaving in the kitchen. So many great flavours working together as well! Sweetness of the peas with a bit of spiciness coming from chili flakes, fruity olive oil with creamy goats' cheese... ah, it doesn't get better than this.

To make 8 small bruschettas you'll need:

half a long ciabatta bread

1 cup of peas (fresh would be best, but I used frozen and they work really well)

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

chilli flakes

a few fresh mint leaves

salt

pepper

4-5 tbsp goats' cheese

1 tomato, sliced into 8 pieces

a handful of pine nuts

Preheat the oven to about 200 C. Boil peas in a big pot. Once they are done, drain and set aside.

Pierce the garlic clove and drop into a small bowl filled with olive oil. Add about 1/4 tsp of chili flakes (or more if you like things spicy), stir with a spoon and set aside so the oil infuses with garlic and chili flavours.

Place the peas in a food processor, add a glug of olive oil, 1/4 tsp chili flakes, squeeze of lemon, salt, pepper and mint leaves - blitz quickly (you want it to stay a bit chunky) and set aside.

Place pine nuts in a small pan and toast lightly. It takes seconds once the pan is hot, so don't leave the kitchen because you'll come back to sorry looking black yuckiness. I speak from experience here people! And no, there won't be any pictures of the blackened mess :)

Now slice the ciabatta bread into 8 slices, place on a baking tray and brush with the infused oil.

Grill for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.


Assemble! Place ciabatta slices on a plate, spoon some smashed peas all over, add a slice of tomato and a teaspoon of goats' cheese. Sprinkle with pine nuts, drizzle some olive oil on top and there you go. Food porn in all its glory!