Lamb Kefta with Egg and Tomato

Mmmm…lamb. These meatballs are incredibly moist, and the egg poached in the spicy tomato sauce adds an interesting flavor. I served this dish over rice, but traditionally it is served right in the pan with hunks of crusty bread for utensils. At first I was perplexed by handling the meat so roughly – usually you hear this makes it tough – but here it really brings the mixture together so the meatballs don’t fall apart.

Serves 2 to 3
Active Time: 25 min, Total Time: 40 min
Adapted from Moroccan Food & Cooking

For the Kefta:

½ lb ground lamb
2 bread slices
½ onion
small bunch flat leaf parsley
1 egg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
dab of butter

For the Sauce:

14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
small bunch fresh cilantro
⅛ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp paprika
2 to 3 eggs

¾ c uncooked rice

Chicken & Rice with Thai Peanut Salsa

Whoever first combined peanuts and coconut milk eons ago was a genius.  It satisfies my biggest cravings (aside from bread, but rice a good substitute) in a single dish.  I found myself eating peanut sauce by the spoonful straight out of the pan, ignoring burning my mouth.  There are a lot of spices, mostly mild, some of which may not be pantry staples (they should be…) and I am sure it would still be excellent without them all.  Turmeric is a new favorite to provide an earthy base – try it in a tomato dish (of the Indian or Middle Eastern variety, not the Italian variety).

Serves 2
Prep Time: 10 min, Cooking Time: 35 min

Thai Peanut Salsa
Adapted from The Great Salsa Book

1 shallot
½ tbsp olive oil
1 c coconut milk
½ c peanut butter
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
cayenne pepper to taste, optional

Grilled Asparagus Risotto

For some reason, making this delicious creamy dish is daunting to many people.  It takes too long.  Arborio rice is expensive.  It’s hard to get the right consistency.  Be not afraid.  Once you get the hang of it, risotto will become your new favorite 30 minute meal.  With a simple base, the possibilities are endless, although I do tend to limit myself to one or two accent ingredients since the risotto is so tasty on its own.  Prosciutto or butternut squash risotto, anyone?  What better way to carbo-load!

Sushi rice is my recently discovered secret (well, America’s Test Kitchen discovered it): it’s much cheaper and results in an even creamier risotto than Arborio rice.  Vary the amount of rice and stock depending on how hungry you are or how many other ingredients you are adding.  Go easy on the nutmeg – a little bit goes a long way.