Pork and Lemongrass Meatballs in Lettuce Cups

Source:  Bon Appetit Magazine

Meatballs:
1 lb ground pork
1 lemongrass stalk
1/4 c chopped shallots
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 T fish sauce
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 T vegetable oil
1 t sugar
1/2 t ground white pepper

Dipping Sauce:
1 lemongrass stalk
1/4 c fresh lime juice
1/4 c fish sauce
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T grated carrot
4 t brown sugar
2 t minced Thai chiles


2 T vegetable oil
1 head butter lettuce leaves
1 small Persian cucumber (confession: I don't know what a Persian cucumber is.  I used an English cucumber.  I think that was a good choice -- a regular cucumber would have too much liquid to work in this recipe.)

Chill pork in freezer while making lemongrass paste.  Obviously, I didn't have to mess with this using the lemongrass from a tube.  So I just put the pork in the freezer for like 10 -15 minutes.  It's less greasy that way, and easier to work with.  Combine all the ingredient for the meatballs in a food processor with the exception of the pork.  Pulse until paste forms.  Add the pork -- pulse until just blended. Please, don't turn it on and let it rip -- it'll turn into a gummy mushy liquidy paste that will never become meatball "material".  Form 24 meatballs.  Put them on a baking sheet.  Cover;  chill at least one hour or up to one day.  I actually left the meatballs in the fridge for 2 days, and day turned out great.

Make lemongrass past from other lemongrass stalk.  Add lime juice, fish sauce, cilantro, sugar and chile to bowl, whisk until sugar dissolves.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add meatballs, brown until cooked through, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes.

To assemble:  take lettuce leaf, place meatball in it, garnish with cucumber and drizzle with dipping sauce.

By now most of you know that I am drawn to recipes that have either an unfamiliar ingredient, or a new technique or both.  Lemongrass is something I have never worked with before.  I've always thought it would be an interesting ingredient to work with.  I've seen people on TV just whacking on it like no ones business.

Also, who doesn't like lettuce wraps, right?  And finally, meatballs -- little bite size meatballs?  Delicious and fun, right?  And the perfect summer meal with fresh crunch lettuce leaves.

My grocery store did not carry lemongrass.  I guess I should have looked at Whole Foods, or an Asian grocery store.  But, the grocery store did have  already minced lemongrass in a tube. Look, I know it's not like a fresh one, but at least they had the ingredient, and I figured that way at least I won't be randomly chopping at some woody lemongrass stalks.

I didn't have any trouble finding fish sauce.  In fact, I already had it at home, used it in some previous recipe.  I think it tastes like soy sauce with a slight fishy undertone.

I also prepared the meatballs on Sunday, and let them chill overnight so that I could prepare them for dinner on Monday.  Most of the time consuming work of chopping, pulsing, rolling ... most of that I got done on Sunday when I had more time to cook.  And I will tell you, I didn't actually cook the meatballs until Wednesday night b/c that's when I I had time.

It wasn't heard to make.  At all.  Just a little focus to get everything mixed, chopped, prepped.  The meatballs ROCKED.  So flavorful, so delicious.  Actually, this same recipe meatball would work with pasta and sauce as well.  I think the fact that there were no breadcrumbs or eggs in it made the meatballs richer and more flavorful, and the fish sauce and lemongrass just punches up the flavor like nothing else.

The dipping sauce is absolutely fabulous -- they say that Thai food expertly combines all major tastes in one bite -- that's definitely true of this dipping sauce -- it's sour from the lime juice and lemongrass (and I went a little nuts with the lemongrass b/c I had trouble measuring it);  very salty and savory from the fish sauce, and sweet b/c of the brown sugar (BTW, I know it sounds like a lot of sugar -- the sauce needs every bit of it).  The cilantro add a little something something, and the carrots are mellow and add a delicious crunch.  I omitted the Thai chiles b/c I was afraid that it would be too hot for my three year old daughter -- I think the sauce would have benefitted from the sauce, and at the end of the day, I just served the meatballs "naked" to my daughter, so I definitely wish  there was a bit of heat in the sauce.

I won't lie -- it's a big mess trying to eat this dish.  But it is very delicious, and well worth the time it takes to make it, and the stains on your shirt :)  And I am going to keep that meatball recipe and use it for my regular meatballs.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes

So today's post and this week's experiment is not so much a recipe, but trying a brand new ingredient;  JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.

This is what these guys look like.  I couldn't find them at Schnucks, and had to go to Whole Foods to get them.  They are also known as sunchokes.  I actually looked it up, and it appears that the name has nothing to do with the city of Jerusalem.  The name came b/c it sounds similar to the word "sunflower" in Italian.  Which is in turn relevant, b/c the flower of this plant looks a lot like a sunflower.  Also, this is a plant native to the Americas.

I decided to roast these little guys, which is pretty much my treatment of choice of all vegetables.  Toss with some olive oil, put on a sheet pan, and roast at 450 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.  By the way, I just washed them, scrubbed them clean and roasted them whole with the peel left intact.  Toss with some salt and pepper and you are done.

This is what they look like after you roast them, cut in half.  They look like potatoes, really.  

My three year old daughter gobbled them up at a speed usually reserved for chicken nuggets and French fries.

It takes very much like potatoes, with a little less starchiness -- the texture wasn't quite and smooth and velvety as a potato -- it was similar to maybe a turnip or celery root.  And the taste was just a touch nuttier than potatoes.  All in all delicious.  

Sunchokes are significantly more expensive than potatoes, and while the taste is very similar, unless sunchokes are nutritionally superior to potatoes, I will probably not purchase them very often.  

Oriental Marinated Asparagus

Source -- Label on the bunch of asparagus I bought.

1 bunch green asparagus
1/4 c seasoned rice wine vinegar (I just used plain white rice wine vinegar)
1 T sesame oil
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
sliced pimentos
toasted sesame seeds

Boil asparagus for 2-5 minutes.  Mix vinegar and sesame oil.  Add asparagus and water chestnuts.  Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour.  Garnish with pimento and sesame seeds.

I love green asparagus.  It's one of my favorite vegetables.  I especially love it early in the season when they are thinner and more tender.  I invariably toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in the oven, or maybe grill them.  I have found though, that the back of the asparagus labels have some pretty neat recipes that are different.  I made a delicious cream of asparagus soup from there before.  So when I saw this marinated asparagus recipe, I was intrigued, and decided to try it.

I did not enjoy the acidic taste of the asparagus.  I guess I should have gotten a clue since that's what a marinade is.  I think I like preparations that play up the natural sweetness of the asparagus.

So is this dish easy to prepare?  Yes.  Healthy?  Yes.  Different?  Yes.  Pretty?  Yes.  Delicious?  Not really.

Moroccan Rub

Source:  Real Simple Magazine

1 T sweet paprika
2 t ground ginger
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1.5 t kosher salt
1/2 black pepper

The last few recipes I tried from Real Simple have been kind of bland, but I figured, how can you go bland with a spice rub, right?  So I made this rub -- added a little extra paprika.  OK, almost twice as much.  But, I am from Hungary, and we get a little excited when it comes to using paprika -- come on, it smells so good and looks so pretty!!

I used the rub on boneless skinless chicken breasts, b/c that's what I had at home.  I was concerned that the rub wouldn't do much to flavor the larger pieces of meat, so I was very generous with it, and rubbed copious amounts onto the chicken.  Then I grilled the chicken breasts.

The flavor was definitely very unique.  You got the strong notes of ginger, with the hint of cinnamon, which is definitely very exotic.  Moroccan?  I think I went overboard with the amount of spice rub I used, and they burned a touch -- which made them a little bitter.  I don't know that this will become a regular in my repertoire, but it was definitely a different variation on the ubiquitous grilled chicken breast.