Mariam – Page 36 – Yogurtsoda

Beef Meatballs with Kale and Radishes

October 30, 2018February 7, 2019

The weather is getting chillier these days, the mornings foggier, and I’m layering again, Bay Area-style. In other words, the temperature has dropped below 75 degrees and I’m freezing. I’m also craving heartier food, like meatballs and leafy greens. I can turn on the oven in this weather too, which is perfect, because quite frankly, I’ve always kind of sucked at stovetop meatballs. But oven-baked? I’m a pro.

These oven-baked beef meatballs are among my favorites to prepare. No red sauce here: just the meatballs, sauteed kale and radishes, and a couple of secret ingredients: garam masala and miso. That’s right. You’d never guess it, but a dollop of salty-sweet white miso and a sprinkling of warm spices gives these meatballs an extra depth.

Cold weather isn’t so bad after all.

Beef meatballs with kale and radishes

Ingredients:

1 egg
4 garlic cloves, 2 finely grated, 2 thinly sliced
3 tablespoons white miso
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Pecorino, finely grated
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
1 pound ground beef
2 bunches Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
8 radishes, trimmed, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Whisk egg, grated garlic, miso, milk, garam masala, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Mix in Pecorino and panko. Add beef gently mix with your hands just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated (do not over-mix).

2. Working one at a time, scoop out 2 heaping tablespoons mealtball mixture and roll into balls between your palms. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake meatballs until lightly browned on top and cooked through, about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add radishes and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add kale and stir, until they wilt, about 5 minutes. Push kale and radishes to one side of skillet. Pour remaining 1 teaspoon oil on the empty side and add sliced garlic. As soon as garlic starts to sizzle, stir it into vegetables. Remove pan from heat and add lemon juice to mixture; season with salt. Toss well.

3. Tear meatballs in half and add to skillet. Toss everything together and serve warm.

Spanish-Style Deviled Eggs

October 24, 2018February 7, 2019

I hated eggs growing up. I’m talking complete revulsion: eggs were up there with monsters and flu shots for me. But somewhere along the way, my adult tastebuds changed their mind and these days, eggs are one of my favorite foods. I can’t get enough of them. Especially deviled eggs.

One of my favorite ways to prepare deviled eggs is with Dungeness crab, but the season only lasts a few months. So for the other half of the year, I make this Spanish version, which is just as delicious. Flecked with paprika, chopped almonds and a generous amount of olive oil, the quality of your ingredients makes all the difference here. These are perfect as an appetizer or alongside a green salad for a light lunch.

Spanish-style deviled eggs

Ingredients:

6 room temperature eggs
1/2 clove garlic
salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled almonds
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish

1. Put the eggs in a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Put the pan over high heat. When the water boils, turn off the burner and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Remove eggs from the pan, transfer to an ice bath, and let cool.

2. Peel the eggs, halve lengthwise, and ease out the yolks into a bowl. Arrange the whites on a serving platter.

3. Peel and chop the garlic, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and use the side of a chef’s knife to smash the garlic into a paste. Add the garlic to the bowl with the yolks, along with the olive oil, mayonnaise, almonds, lemon juice, parsley, paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Use a fork to smash the yolks and blend the ingredients. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt if needed.

4. Pipe the mixture into a pastry bag or ziploc cut with a 1-inch hole. Divide the mixture among the egg whites.

5. Garnish the eggs with more parsley and a dusting of paprika. Serve at room temperature.

Spaghetti with Mushroom Bolognese

October 17, 2018August 17, 2023

This recipe shouldn’t make any sense, but it does. It’s Bolognese, but it’s vegetarian. Oh, and there’s miso. And a loooot of vegetables. But the resulting sauce is so umami-laden that you won’t miss the meat, I promise. (Even Nishan, who counts a traditional spaghetti Bolognese among his favorite foods of all time, couldn’t get enough of this.)

Adapted from a Food & Wine recipe, I’ve played around with the vegetable proportions to my preference. Feel free to do the same.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small eggplant (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 pound cremini mushrooms, 1/4 sliced, the rest cut into 1/4-inch dice
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt
Pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons white miso
One 2-inch chunk of Parmesan cheese, plus grated cheese for serving
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1 thyme sprig
1/2 teaspoon sugar
12 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1. In a small bowl, cover the porcini with 1 cup of boiling water; soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Finely chop the porcini. Pour off and reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

2. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook over moderate heat until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add the eggplant and 2 tablespoons of the oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 minutes. Stir in the cremini, shiitake, chopped porcini and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and miso and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chunk of cheese, the tomatoes and their juices, the thyme, sugar and reserved mushroom soaking liquid and bring to a simmer.â€©

3. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 1 hour. Discard the thyme sprig; season the sauce with salt and pepper. â€©

4. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

5. Add the pasta, pasta water, and parsley to the sauce; toss to coat. Serve topped with grated cheese.

A Day in Copenhagen

October 11, 2018

Copenhagen was the surprise star of our 2018 Eurotrip. The one I wasn’t expecting to blow me away, but it did. In hindsight, I should have known better. Copenhagen is one of the world’s culinary hotspots, giving way not only to new Nordic cuisine but to an amalgamation of immigrant dishes thanks to the colorful tapestry of Denmark (and nearby Sweden). Both the hyperlocal and the hyperglobal are in full force — it was evident in every corner we (hurriedly) looked.

And that’s just the food. People were out enjoying the day: cars were few and far between, everyone looked like a fashion model on a bike, and well, Danes speak better English than you or I do, so there’s that. At the risk of romanticizing my blink-of-an-eye visit, there’s a joie de vivre I witnessed in Copenhagen that I’ve seldom seen anywhere else.

If I could do it again, I would have spent more time in Copenhagen. Oh, and that hygge craze? Consider me a convert.

Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne food hall. Think San Francisco’s Ferry Building, but super Nordic.

Coffee Collective

Smoked salmon smorrebrod at Hallernes Smorrebrod

Danish meatball smorrebrod at Hallernes Smorrebrod

Danish meatball smorrebrod

Hellefiskceviche, tuntatar, and quinoa salad at Hav Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne

Norreport

Norreport: So. Many. Bikes.

Nyhavn

Akvavit and tonic at Restaurant Barr

Akvavit and tonic at Restaurant Barr, which now occupies the same space as Noma previously did.

Lumpfish roe at Restaurant Barr

Lumpfish roe

Housemade bread at Resaurant Barr

Housemade bread. Restaurant Barr’s butter was the creamiest and richest I’ve ever tasted.

Cured ribeye at Restaurant Barr

Cured ribeye

Cucumber salad at Restaurant Barr

Cucumber salad. I wish you could taste this photo. So many new flavors! Like a crisp meadow, in the best way.

Glazed cod at Restaurant Barr

Glazed cod

Nyhavn

Smorrebrod at Aamann's

One last smorrebrod for the road, at Aamann’s.

A Week In Croatia

October 10, 2018October 10, 2018

The thing about living in California is if you’re going to fly all the way to Europe, you may as well make a week out of it, right? After our celebration-fueled weekend in London, we caught a plane to Split, Croatia, which was our home base for a week. Split’s old town is built quite literally in a palace, but it was our day trips that were the highlight. Hvar Island could have been straight out of an Adriatic fairytale, Plitvice Lakes was just as stunning as Rick Steves always made it out to be (sans the insane crowds — kind of a nature buzzkill imo), and the wineries were homegrown and country, just the way I like it. The photos speak for themselves.

Spinach burek at Bobis in Diocletian's Palace