What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison [38]
3. Cook the kaftes on the grill or in a hot lightly oiled pan, turning them as they color, until they feel firm and are beautifully browned on the outside, about 10 minutes, depending on how big they are. Serve with rice or bulgur, cucumber salad, or, as Sari suggests, a salad of sliced tomatoes with olive oil and mint.
Cucumber-Yogurt Salad
Scaled back to make one generous serving, grated cucumber gives this dish an almost sauce-like texture. If you prefer more discrete elements, seed, then dice the cucumber instead. This is a refreshing salad to eat with all kinds of food, and it can appear as one of several salads in salad meals. In summer, it’s practically thirst quenching.
1 GARLIC CLOVE, NOT TOO LARGE, COARSELY CHOPPED
1⁄4 TEASPOON SALT
1⁄2 CUP YOGURT
1 CUCUMBER, PEELED
3 PINCHES DRIED MINT LEAVES OR 2MINT LEAVES, FINELY CHOPPED
OLIVE OIL
1. Smash the garlic in a mortar with the salt until it’s smooth, then stir in the yogurt.
2. Grate the cucumber on the large holes of a standing grater, stopping when you get to the seeded middle part. Discard that. Squeeze what will be a considerable amount of moisture out of the cucumber, then mix the cucumber with the yogurt. Put it in a dish, garnish with the mint, and drizzle just a little olive oil over the surface.
Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Like kaftes, meatballs are made with ground meat mixed with breadcrumbs, onion, and various seasonings. But they’re round, browned, then simmered in tomato sauce rather than grilled. They freeze well and can be reheated as needed, which, in the eyes of some, makes them a perfect bachelor food. Patrick makes them extra-large, while Peggy Markel, a cook who leads cooking tours, makes her spicy Moroccan meatballs about the size of big marbles. One could do the same with these, or go for an in between size. We use local grass-fed beef, bison, or a mixture—very lean but flavorful meats.
1 POUND GROUND BEEF OR BISON
A HANDFUL OF PARSLEY LEAVES, FINELY CHOPPED WITH 1 LARGE GARLIC CLOVE
1 SMALL ONION, FINELY DICED
1⁄2 CUP BREADCRUMBS, FRESH OR DRIED
1⁄2 TEASPOON DRIED OREGANO
1 EGG
1⁄2 CUP (OR MORE IF MEAT IS VERY LEAN) GRATED ASIAGO OR OTHER GRATING CHEESE
SALT AND PEPPER
2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
TOMATO SAUCE
1. Crumble the beef into a bowl, then add the chopped parsley, onion, breadcrumbs, oregano, egg, and cheese. Mix with your hands. Season with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper, and mix again. Fry a little bit of the meat, then taste it to see if you’ve got the seasonings right; add more if needed.
2. Shape the meat into balls with your hands, making them as large or as small as you wish. Two- or three-inch balls seem like good sizes—-substantial, but not too large.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat if using grass-fed beef or bison, slightly higher heat if using fattier meat. When hot, add the meatballs and brown them, turning them so that they color more or less evenly.
4. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer in a wide skillet. Add the meatballs and simmer gently until they’re cooked through, about 20 minutes depending on the size. Serve with polenta or spaghetti.
Bartender’s Flank Steak Stuffed with Mushrooms and More
Flank steak may be familiar fare for many, but it was unknown to us until we made this dish suggested by Lola’s savvy bartender. A few things to note. First, it’s really good. Second, a 1-1⁄2-pound steak served five women and one man, so as a solo dish, you’d probably want to cut this back to a pound. Third, it’s obvious that having beef with bacon and cheese flies in the face of a number of culinary and dietary no-no’s. However, we did cut way back on the offending additions, leaving just enough for great taste. While spinach wasn’t mentioned as one of the fillings, it is good here. We recommend cooking a large bunch of spinach, chopping it up, and sprinkling it over the meat before adding the mushrooms.
1 TO 1-1⁄2 POUNDS FLANK STEAK