Рецепт North African Lamb Boulettes and a Pomegranate Cumin Salad Dressing
I love a good meatball. And that’s exactly what a boulette is in French. So I
cached away David Tanis’ recipe for a North African version that appeared in
the NY Times almost a year ago. You only
have to look at the most recent posts here to realize it’s been a seafood
summer. We’ve been cooking and enjoying
fish and shellfish every chance we get.
But last week, we decided to break our pescatorian diet and out came the
City Kitchen article and recipe. Now
Chef Tanis allowed as how he had created his recipe from many. But at their core, this is a meatball with
its roots in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.
All of these are former French colonies and if you’ve been adventurous
in Paris and gone into Tunisian or Moroccan restaurants there, you’ve
undoubtedly seem them in several guises on menus there. They’re often an appetizer, or a side dish
but they reach their full glory in a fragrant main course ‘tagine’ accompanied
by couscous. You can make these with beef or lamb and Mr. Tanis has even made
them with ground turkey. I went with
lamb because Lord knows we may have had a lot of fish this summer but we’ve
also indulged in a hamburger or twelve.
With our tagine, I served a simple red leaf lettuce salad with a
dressing laced with cumin and pomegranate that was a perfect complement to the
North African flavors of the boulettes and there’s a story there too.
My dear friend Amy is fond of
bringing us unusual ingredients. She is an incredibly thoughtful gift-giver
whose most recent introduction was to a black olive oil called Azienda Agricola
Persiani from Oliviers & Co, a French purveyor. The label reads: “An Olivier & Co.
selection: it’s the perfect traceability of a small batch of olive oil, the
orchard, the plot, the producer and even the tank exclusively booked for
O&CO are checked.” Translated, the
name means Persian Farms. It turns out
that “Persiani” doesn’t refer to the former country of Persia but to the
Persiani Family who produce the Olive Oil.
The oil is amazing as a dipping oil. But I used it for this Pomegranate Cumin salad
dressing, a Bon Appetit recipe. The first ingredient in the
dressing was also a gift from Amy: Mymoune Pomegranate Molasses from Lebanon. I
am have no clue where the Cumin came from but we’re squarely in North Africa
now with both our boulettes and our
salad dressing. Now if you don't have
pomegranate molasses, there's a way of making your own listed below. And you
can use any great extra virgin olive oil you please. The recipe for Amy's
dressing follows the one for the boulettes.
The
boulettes float in a tomato sauce
that surprised me. There’s so little
tomato in it—just two tablespoons of tomato paste—that I was amazed at what an
intensely flavored broth it made. Chef
Tanis’ recipe called for Saffron threads.
Having none on hand, I eliminated them.
Like Chef Tannis, I opted for Israeli couscous thereby incorporating yet
another Middle Eastern flavor to the dish.
Here are the recipes:
Recipe for North African Lamb Boulettes adapted from David
Tanis in the New York Times.
4-6 servings. Time: 1 hour 15
minutes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups finely diced onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
- 3 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth
- or water
- 1 and 1/2
- cups cubed day-old firm white bread
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- Olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 cup giant couscous, m’hamsa, or
- medium couscous
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in hot
- water to soften, then drained
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.
Make
the sauce: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy bottomed saucepan.
Add onion and cook without browning until softened, about 5 minutes. Add
garlic, tomato paste, cinnamon and saffron, and stir well to incorporate.
Season generously with salt and pepper, and allow to sizzle for 1 minute more.
Add broth and simmer gently for 5 minutes. May be made several hours in
advance, up to a day.
2.
Make
the meatballs: Put bread cubes and milk in a small bowl. Leave bread to soak
until softened, about 5 minutes, then squeeze dry.
In
a mixing bowl, put squeezed-out bread, ground meat and egg. Add salt, pepper,
garlic, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cayenne, cloves, coriander and
cumin. Mix well with hands to distribute seasoning. Add 2 tablespoons each of
parsley, cilantro and scallion, and knead for a minute. May be prepared several
hours in advance, up to a day.
3.
With
hands, roll mixture into small round balls about the size of a quarter. Dust
balls lightly with flour.
4.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil, or a quarter-inch
depth, over medium-high heat and fry meatballs until barely browned, about 2
minutes per side. Drain and blot on paper towel.
5.
Simmer meatballs in
saffron-tomato sauce, covered, over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until
tender.
Meanwhile,
make the couscous, if desired: Cook according to package directions, fluff
gently and stir in butter and raisins. Season with salt and cinnamon, and toss
well.
Garnish
meatballs with remaining parsley, cilantro and scallion. Serve with couscous
and roasted tomatoes if desired.
Makes
about 36 meatballs.
Recipe for Amy’s Pomegranate
Cumin Salad Dressing:
Makes
about 1 cup. Takes 10 minutes.
7
1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4
1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3
tablespoons sliced fresh mint leaves
1
1/2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1
tablespoon ground cumin
6
tablespoons minced shallots
Ingredient info: If
you can't find pomegranate molasses at the supermarket or a Middle
Eastern store, make your own by boiling
1 cup pomegranate juice until reduced to 3 tablespoons syrup, about
15 minutes.
Whisk first 5 ingredients in bowl. Mix in
shallots; season with salt and pepper.