Рецепт Lemon Meatball Salad; the update
Work progressed reasonably well this week.
Mon mari stopped varnishing the floor boards before installing and, once again, the tongue fit into the groove.
It's still slow, he has to stain a few, then install them, then put 3 coats of varnish on, then stain a few more.... but he's over half done.
And during downtime he works in the bathroom.
He did the counter top for the sinks:
Naturally, as it's flat, it immediately became a work surface, but under all the crap is a tiled counter top.
I rather like my little, decorator tiles and they weren't terribly fussy to put up.
We picked up the shower door last week:
And he's started tiling the shower:
As for me.... I mowed and trimmed and cut and sprayed and strimmed and then did it all again.
Everything grows so fast in May.
Oh. Wait.
It's not May yet.
Sigh....
I may have mentioned somewhere that this time of year can be, um, interesting in the kitchen chez nous.
Mon mari is anxious to get back into cooking outdoors but, it seems whenever we plan on it, the weather turns cold and rainy before he has a chance to fire up the grill.
Which is how grilled hamburgers were turned into a meatball salad.
Yes, you read that correctly.
There are no rules in my kitchen.
I had a huge bunch of spinach that was meant to be light, summery salads to go with our grilled burgers and chops and chicken this week.
I was rebelling against reverting to traditional winter cooking.
Lemon Meatball Salad was born.
And I have to tell you....
Next time it rains I'm doing it again.
Or maybe sooner.
This was based on the Moroccan Meatballs with Preserved Lemon I made a few weeks ago.
Lemon Meatball Salad
Meatballs
- 12oz (350gr) ground beef
- 1 tbs minced shallot
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tbs dried parsley
- 2 tbs dried bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- Sauce
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180gr) beef stock
- 3 tbs sherry vinegar
- 2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 preserved lemon, rinsed, pulp removed and rind cut into strips
- 6oz (175gr) fresh spinach
- 2 tbs fresh marjoram leaves
- 2 tbs fresh garlic chives
Meatballs: Combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs and mix very well, kneading until it gets almost paste-like. Form into 1" (2.5cm) balls. Set aside.
Sauce: In a large skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until tender, 6 - 7 minutes. Add red pepper, paprika, cumin and sauté 1 minute longer. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add meatballs, keeping them separate, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Combine vinegar, mustard and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to skillet, stirring until sauce is thickened. Add preserved lemon, remove from heat.
Salad: Combine spinach and fresh herbs. Divide and arrange on 2 plates. Spoon meatballs and sauce on top. Drizzle with more vinegar and olive oil if desired and serve.
Break's over; back to work