Meat and Grain Balls - Bittman

This recipe from Mark Bittman grabbed my attention with the name Meat and Grain Balls.  What grain is he talking about?  It seems, almost any grain would work so I used quinoa; Bittman used bulgur.  The truth is that quinoa is easy to cook and speedy to be finished which is why I chose it.  My guests picked out the quinoa by the taste but I could not do so.  I served these in a sweet and sour sauce and that is what dominated.
Meat-and-Grain Balls

2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
1 pound meat 
1cloves minced garlic
 2 shallots, chopped
1 or 2 shakes of cayenne
1 tablesppon chili powder
black pepper to taste
1 egg
2 cups cooked, cooked quinoa
2 cups spinach 


Preheat oven to 400F

Bring pot of water to boil. Wilt spinach in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain it, dry it, chop it.

Put spinach in a bowl, along with ground meat. 

Add onion, garlic, spices and egg.

Add either the cooked quinoa.

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Transfer the mixture to a greased loaf pan, OR shape into burgers or meatballs (as I said, 1lb of ground turkey made approximately 16 medium sized meatballs).

Place in oven and roast. Depending on size of meatballs, it will take between 15 minutes for small meatballs and up to 30 for larger ones, using a 400 degree oven.

Make sauce of choice to go with the meatballs.

Place balls in sauce.


Eat and enjoy.
Linked to:   Treasure Box Tuesday    Hearth and Soul Hop     Tuesday’s Table            Fat Tuesday          Weekend Potluck        What'd You Do  This Weekend         Waste Not Want Not Wednesday             Creative Munster                         What's Cooking Wednesday       Full Plate Thursday

Comments

  1. TeaLadyAugust 7, 2015 at 9:46 AM

    I hadn't seen this recipe from Bittman. Love his stuff. Which book did it come from. I really want to try this one. LOVE quinoa.

    ReplyDelete
  2. April J HarrisAugust 10, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    Really love the idea of adding quinoa and spinach to the meatballs, Chaya. What a great way to add both flavour and nutrition! Thank you for sharing with us at Hearth and Soul. Sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your comments are a part of making my day bright and shiny. I value your advice, criticism and viewpoints.

Popular posts from this blog

Thai Chicken San Choy Bau

Image
It says, "thai" so I have to like the Thai Chicken San Choy Bau that we are making this week in our Donna Hay Wednesday group.  It was a bit spicy and the chopped chicken was a nice change of pace. Kayte selected this recipe from On the Shelf on page 124.   I tried it with the greens and it was very good and then I put it on spaghetti and it was spectacular.  My toddler granddaughter even liked it.  Must have been the hot sauce. I used romaine for the greens and I subbed in red pepper and added some Sirracha to spice it up to make up for the real chilis. Do check out the other cooks' dishes at our   Wednesday with Donna Hay site.
Read more

Brussels Sprouts - Power Food - Re-post

Image
Another week, another vegetable for our Power Food group, a bunch of women who strive for healthy eating with the most delicious dishes. Each blog is inspiration . Each week, we choose a recipe based on the power food which comes from the book, Power Foods, 150 delicious recipes with the 38 healthiest ingredients from the editors of Whole Living magazine. Brussels sprouts like broccoli and cabbage are cruciferous. This group offers a unique composition of antioxidants that may provide several health benefits. Brussels sprouts are low in calories and offer protein, vitamins and minerals to help build a healthy human. My first issue with brussels sprouts is that it took me years to spell it correctly. Each time, it came up, in writing, and I admit, that was not too often, I would stare into space asking myself does brussel get an S, at the end or is it sprout that gets the S. For some reason, I could not remember that both end with that S. I am happy to tell you, I overcame thi...
Read more

Carrot Cake _ Power Food - repost

Image
Another week, another vegetable for our Power Food group, a bunch of women who strive for healthy eating with the most delicious dishes. Each blog is inspiration . Each week, we choose a recipe based on the power food which comes from the book, Power Foods, 150 delicious recipes with the 38 healthiest ingredients from the editors of Whole Living magazine. That week, we concentrated on carrots. I like to check out our vegetable, not only for health benefits, but also for the names of their sisters. Carrots are related to parsnips, fennel, parsley, anise, caraway, cumin and dill. I didn't have a clue about many of these. I, have never seen carrots of other colors or at least, if I had, I didn't know, they were carrots. I am going to a good produce store, looking for purple or red carrots, to start my search. It is fun, shopping when purposely looking for new vegetables. I have definitely expanded my horizons. When, I was thinking about what to make with carrots, I ...
Read more