Author: Mariam

Coconut Curry Beef Meatballs

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Here’s your new favorite curry recipe. Adapted from Bon Appetit, these curried meatballs can be made well ahead of time and reheated and served with rice, yogurt, and pickles for a perfect meal. Don’t want to use beef? Substitute with lamb. Just don’t skimp on the alliums and spices.

Ingredients:
  • 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled
  • 1 serrano chile, halved lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek, Indian, or Iranian yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/4 cup panko
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
  • 1 13-ounce can coconut milk
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • Cooked rice and lime wedges, for serving
  1. Puree onion, garlic, ginger, chile, and yogurt in a blender until smooth. Transfer 1/4 cup onion puree to a large bowl. Add curry powder, sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon salt to remaining puree in blender and blend to combine; set aside. Add ground beef, panko, pepper, baking soda, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 water to 1/4 cup puree in bowl; mix vigorously with your hands until smooth and meat is beginning to stick to sides of bowl. Wet your hands and roll beef mixture into 1 1/2-inch diameter meatballs (you should have about 20).
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Cook half of meatballs, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes total (meatballs will still be raw in the center); transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs and oil.
  3. Reduce heat to medium; add reserved onion puree to same skillet and cook, stirring often, until puree thickens and beads of oil form on the surface, about 6 minutes. Add coconut milk and ½ cup water; stir to combine. Return meatballs to skillet, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as needed to maintain a simmer, until meatballs are cooked through about 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer curry to a serving bowl; top with green onions. Serve with rice and lime wedges.

Turkey Bacon and Asparagus Fried Rice

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I know what you’re thinking, but listen, I’m not here for any turkey bacon slander. It’s salty, crispy, and savory: what’s not to love? Stir-fried with asparagus, they make an unlikely but deeply delicious pairing in this quick and easy fried rice. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound chopped turkey bacon
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 1/2 cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 4 cups cold leftover steamed rice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  1. In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook the turkey bacon over medium-high heat, flipping the turkey bacon every few minutes to evenly brown. After a few minutes, once the turkey bacon is cooked through and crispy, remove from the skillet but do not wipe the skillet clean.
  2. Sweat the ginger, garlic, and onion in the skillet until they become translucent and aromatic, about 1 minute.
  3. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, and stir them to break the yolks. Pour the eggs into the skilled and quickly stir to cook. While the eggs are still a little runny, push them to the side of the skillet. Add the remaining avocado oil to the center of the skillet and add the asparagus, stir-frying it in the oil for about 1 minute, then push it next to the eggs.
  4. Turn the heat to high and add the rice to the skillet, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon. Once the rice becomes loose, mix and fold the eggs and asparagus into the rice. Drizzle the soy sauce into the skillet, and continue to stir-fry. Add the reserved turkey bacon and green onions and season with black pepper and serve.

Blood Orange Aperol Spritz

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I know we reached peak Aperol spritz saturation sometime around mid-2024, but this blood orange Aperol spritz is the perfect cocktail to carry you through the springtime. It’s sunny, it’s citrusy, it’s herbaceous. Warmer weather is almost here, I can feel it.

This recipe makes enough for 8 servings, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle Prosecco or other sparkling wine
  • 2 cups Aperol
  • 1 cup club soda
  • Juice of 2 blood oranges
  • About 20 basil leaves
  • 8 slices blood orange, to garnish
  1. Pour in the Prosecco, Aperol, club soda, and blood orange juice into a pitcher. Add the basil leaves and stir gently to combine. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish each with a blood orange slice.

Chicken and Mushroom Wontons in Chili Oil

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Steamed, boiled, or fried, I’m a sucker for any and all dumplings. I keep a few different kinds in my homemade rotation, and these boiled wontons are my new favorites, thanks to a generous drizzle of chili crisp, soy sauce, and vinegar at the end.

These make enough for large crowd, but don’t be surprised if you end up wanting to eat them all yourself.

Ingredients:
  • 1 package wonton wrappers
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
  • 2 cups garlic chives, chopped
  • 10 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 1/2-inch piece ginger, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried shiitake mushroom powder, made from 1 or 2 dried shiitake mushrooms ground in a spice grinder
  • 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Chili crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, and sesame seeds, for serving
  1. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, garlic chives, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, dried mushroom powder, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  3. Place a small spoonful of filling (about 1 teaspoon) in the center of one of the wonton wrappers. Fold the bottom part up so that the dumpling forms a half circle and press all the way around to seal. Flip the dumpling over, grasp the two corners, and connect them by pinching one on top of the other. Repeat with remaining wontons and filling.
  4. Working in batches to prevent overcrowding, drop the wontons in the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the dumpling floats to the top and is cooked through. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil.
  5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wontons straight from the cooking water to into a serving platter.
  6. Serve immediately with a few generous spoonfuls of chili crisp, soy sauce, black vinegar, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds to taste.

Sweet Potato “Toast” with Bananas and Almond Butter

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These “toasts” may not be beautiful but they’re the perfect breakfast: both dense in nutrients and sweetly satisfying. Bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time and this dish comes together in minutes. This recipe makes enough for four people but feel free to scale up or down depending on your preference.

Ingredients:
  • 2 large sweet potatoes (skin on), cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch-thick slices
  • 1 teaspoon avocado or coconut oil
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 4 teaspoons almond butter
  • 1 banana, sliced into rounds
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the sweet potato slices on the baking sheet and toss with the oil and salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then flip over the slices and cook for 15 more minutes, or until lightly browned and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  3. Top each slice of sweet potato with a heaping teaspoon of almond butter, banana slices, and a pinch of sea salt and cinnamon.