Easy Recipes from The Pot Rack – April 2022

Spring is here and my palate is dreaming of lighter fare with a nice balance of acid and fat. So this year I decided to not do the big leg of lamb on Easter Sunday and instead do a lite and full of flavor version of lamb meatballs. All of the components of this dish can be made in advance which makes this a stress-free and tasty option for your holiday table. Don’t forget the pita bread!

Ingredients 

For Meatballs

1 1/2  lbs ground lamb

2 Tblsp Greek yogurt

1 egg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 Tblsp minced fresh garlic

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (sub with fresh dill if cilantro gives you the willies)
6 oz brick Feta cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

 

For Couscous

2 cups chicken stock, heated to just boiling

1 Tblsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups couscous

Salt to taste

 

For Cucumbers

1-2 English cucumber(s) sliced thin

2 Tblsp red wine vinegar

1 Tblsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Gently combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix everything together. Don’t over mix or the meat gets tough.
  • Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture into a small ball and press 1 feta cube into the center, sealing meat tightly around cheese. place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining meatball mixture and cheese.
  • Place baking sheet into the oven and bake meatballs for 15-20 minutes or until the lamb is cooked through (about 150 degrees internal temperature).
  • Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock and olive oil. When just bubbling remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and let sit for at least five minutes. NO PEEKING! Fluff it up just before plating.
  • Combine cucumbers with vinegar, oil and salt and pepper to taste.

On a platter, make a thin bed of couscous top with the cucumber salad and finish with the meatballs. Crumble on a bit more Feta and add some olives. Give a final drizzle of your best olive oil and serve with a side of a creamy hummus and a squeeze of lemon. Heaven.

Beyond the Recipe–This spring lamb dish is a great example of what happens when you layer delicious ingredients that complement each other. After all, the layering of flavors is what creative cooking is all about. Flavor layering means “adding multiple flavors to a dish to deepen and expand its flavors.” This approach relies on the “opposites attract” method. So what flavors are we dealing with? Well, there used to be just four: salt, sweet, sour and bitter. In recent years three more flavors were added to the list. Those are umami (think aged cheese and meaty nuts), fat (animal products including butter and eggs), and heat (think hot sauce and ginger). So, if you have a bitter ingredient like Radicchio, what kind of salad dressing might you pair it with? I’m thinking honey (sweet), crumbled bacon (salty), balsamic vinegar (sour), chopped walnuts (umami) and olive oil (fat)! It’s like a wonderful puzzle made with food. Next time you cook up something from scratch, try to combine at least 4 flavor profiles to your dish and see where you end up. Tag—you’re it!