I found a page of recipes for Din Tai Fung Style Cucumber Salad when I searched Persian Cucumbers on the web. I read each recipe. Most were the same or similar but a few were different. Since I never tasted Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad I don’t know what it taste like or what recipe is the most similar. I came up with something that is similar but different. They came out light and refreshing and would be a great appetizer to an Asian Style meal. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. I can see two people eating this batch since it doesn’t make much but I can also see this as four lighter small servings.
Ingredients for 4 servings
5 Persian Cucumbers – ends trimmed – cut in inch high chunks
1 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt (to sweat cucumbers)
3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
1 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
splash soy sauce
Directions
In a medium bowl add the cucumber chunks and the salt. Mix well and leave the cucumbers sweat for 20 minutes. Then rinse and dry the cucumber chunks. In a small bowl mix up the vinegar, mirin, honey, oil, chili paste and soy sauce. In a zip lock bag (I only needed a sandwich size bag) add the rinsed off and dried cucumber chunks and the liquid mixture. Try to push air out as you zip lock the bag and refrigerate over night and serve tomorrow.
You know that saying when life gives you lemons that you got to make lemon-aid? Well I was sort of gifted with more yellow squash than I could eat. So I made my last two pounds of yellow squash into faux sour kraut that isn’t too sour. Actually it taste better than most sour krauts out there and it’s quick and easy to prepare. Two pounds seems like a lot of squash but this shrinks down a lot. This will stay fresh around up to three weeks. My idea of serving size will differ from yours. This makes at least 6 servings.
Ingredients for 6 servings
2 lbs yellow squash – thin spiral cut
1 large sweet onion – sliced very thin on mandolin
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
9 juniper berries – ground
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
Directions
In a large mixing bowl combine the spiral cut yellow squash and mix well with the thinly sliced onions and set to the side.
In a small bowl combine the vinegar, sugars, salt, juniper berry powder, caraway seeds and mustard seeds and mix well. (you can heat to dissolve sugar and salt but it isn’t necessary because it melts as it sits)
At this point it is easier to put the squash/onion mixture in a gallon zip lock bag and pour the vinegar mixture into the bag. Scrape out anything that didn’t dissolve in the bowl and add it to the squash mixture. Squeeze the bag mixture and squash things around to distribute as best as you can. Squish out as much air as you can and let this sit out on the counter for an hour. The sugar and salt will cook and sweat the squash. It will be delicious on your food.
Add some to a hotdog, or pastrami or whatever you like kraut on.
Forking Fabulous Almost Instant Kraut Style Yellow Squash
Today I made a lasagna. I pulled out some tomato sauce from my freezer. The sauce was made from fresh tomatoes that I peeled and slow cooked for about a day. I have a similar recipe for tomato sauce called winter tomato sauce made from canned tomatoes of you want to try that or just use whatever you normally use. The recipe for sauce is not here. I made the ricotta cheese fresh because they don’t sell good tasting ricotta cheese in my part of Arizona. Then I made the pasta and hand rolled it. I topped the pasta sheet with my lasagna fillings and rolled it up almost like a jelly roll. The hardest part was placing the rolled dough in the bundt pan but it wasn’t impossible either. If you make this the way I did then it will take you 2-3 days to make the lasagna. The sauce I made takes all day. The cheese takes a little over an hour but needs a day to drain. You have to get the cheese very dry and crumbly. I also chilled my dough over night because I had the time. Serving size will indeed differ…same as bundt cake. Little slices are about 16 servings and big gut busting servings are around 8 servings. I got 14 servings for my taste so I will calculate this to be 14 servings. You can freeze leftovers well.
Ingredients for 14 servings
1 gallon whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
2 lemons – just the fresh squeezed juice – (if your lemons are tiny or dry you might need a third lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 eggs
3 yolks
1 1/3 cup ap flour plus more for dusting (you might need less or more flour depending on brand…start with one cup and see if you need more
2 pinch sea salt
1 egg
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley – fine chopped
1 lb mozzarella – shredded (**I actually used 9.5 ounces between the layers and put the rest on the top)
1 cup parmesan cheese – grated (plus more for serving)
1/2 cup sharp provolone – grated
scant 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
few grates nutmeg
few grates black pepper
non stick spray
Make the cheese.
Put a gallon of whole milk with a pint of cream and maybe two teaspoons of sea salt in a BIG pot on medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. (this might take about an hour) You want to SLOW BOIL this mixture. When the milk is SLOW BOILING for a few minutes SLOWLY add the lemon juice a little at a time and let it keep boiling to make curds. Scoop out the curds with a strainer and shake out the whey.
Keep going till you get out all the curd. You will have to drain the cheese several times. Best to chill overnight so you can get the cheese nice and extra thick so it comes out right. When the cheese is all completed drained. Mix together all the ricotta (it should be slightly over a pound), 1 egg, 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, 1 cup grated parmesan, ground white pepper and a few grates of nutmeg. Refrigerate till ready to use.
In another bowl combine around 9 1/2 oz of shredded mozzarella with 1/2 cup shredded provolone and refrigerate till you are ready to roll (the lasagna up).
Next make the dough.
Mix together 2 whole eggs, 3 yolks, 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 2 pinches of sea salt and between 1 and 1 1/3 cup of flour. (the amount of flour will differ depending on the brand you are using and the humidity. (this dough recipe was based on a Cook’s Country Recipe but the one cup flour never worked out right for me on the 4 times I did this pasta dough and I find that I always need around a third a cup more. I also added the salt because I thought pasta dough needs a little bit of salt. Kneed dough a bit and make it into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill at least 20 minutes or overnight.
Put it all together.
Spray bundt pan with non stick spray. Set oven to 350 degrees F.
Put around a cup of tomato sauce in non stick sprayed bundt pan and set to the side.
Roll out pasta dough about 22 inches by 16 inches on a very floured surface.
Spread around a thin coating of tomato sauce.
Fill a sandwich bag with the ricotta mixture. Cut tip of bag and make rows of cheese. (I didn’t spread the cheese because I thought I’d rip the thin delicate pasta.)
Use plastic wrap and cover cheese so you can press with your hands and make a smooth cheese layer.
Add grated cheese mixture.
Add more sauce.
Roll up like a jelly roll. (from long side)
(next time I might add a sheet of plastic wrap for parchment paper under the pasta dough so it will be easier to roll?….If I remember………)
Here’s the hardest part. Get your biggest spatula and lift it up the best you can with your hand too and place in bundt pan and pat it down.
Add a small amount of sauce and some cheese if you care to…(you can save remaining cheese for reheating……but you need to add the sauce)
Add more sauce.
Spray aluminum foil with non stick spray. Cover pan tightly with non stick spray side down on the top of saucy top.
Use a pan under the bundt pan because it is likely that you will have some spill over and place on the middle rack of the oven and leave in for 75 minutes.
After 75 minutes in the oven leave out on counter till cool and then refrigerate to set the lasagna up.
After chilled slice up and heat. Serve with more sauce and grated cheese.
Someone won’t leave my feet.
“It smells so heavenly!” “I need a slice now!”Bundt Lasagna
I was inspired to create this recipe after watching a chef cooking competition show called Top Chef. One chef Bryan Voltaggio made potato cakes with shallots, gruyere cheese and thyme. I was meant to make them because those were the ingredients that I had to use up in my house. I don’t know for remember how the chef on TV make his potato cakes but mine also came out fabulous……They came out FORKING AMAZING! The whole house smelled FORKING AMAZING too! These are easy to make and come out incredible. A few oof the ingredients that I used are harder to find but if you don’t make this exactly the way I did it won’t come out as great. This recipe happened to make 12 smaller perfect potato cakes so I’d say that is about 12 servings but they are so delicious that some people might want to eat two servings.
Ingredients for up to 12 servings
1 lb shallots – peeled – sliced paper thin
1 1/2 lb red potatoes – peeled – cut in half depending on size -sitting in cold water -(salt)
2 Tablespoons sea salt (for boiling potatoes)
1 hot banana pepper – cut long ways in half (to boil with potatoes to give flavor)
2 oz unsalted butter
4 oz gruyere cheese – shredded
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon Calabrian Chili Oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
few grates nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg – beaten
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
non stick cooking spray
Directions set oven to 500 degrees F.
On one burner put your pot of potatoes on a medium high boil with the salt and the hot pepper. Cook till potato is tender (15-20 min.)
On your other burner add the oils to the pan on high heat. When the oil is hot add the shallots and turn down to medium high. Stir occasionally and cook till soft but not brown. (about 7=8 min). Take off heat and add to potatoes after potatoes are drained and the hot pepper is thrown away.
By now your potatoes are done. Mash them with the butter and add the 1 teaspoon sea salt, white pepper, few grates of nutmeg, black pepper, thyme and gruyere cheese. Mix well. Add the beaten egg and shallots and mix well.
Spray muffin pan with non stick spray and fill each cup with mixture.
Place in preheated 500 degree F oven.
After about 5 minutes the potatoes will be brown so turn down the oven to 350 F degrees. They will only need about ten more minutes for a total of 15 minutes in the oven. (about 5 minutes 500 degrees F , turn down to 350 degrees F about ten minutes more)
Remove from oven and let cool down. Serve when warm or refrigerate and reheat. Can be frozen and then thawed to reheat.
Baked Potato Cakes with Shallots, Gruyere Cheese and Thyme
Here is a plate of Shanghai Bok Choy and another Asian Green that you might be less familiar with called Yu Choy. Honest these greens only take around a minute to prepare once you have your water boiling. Yu Choy are quicker and even easier to cook than bok choy. For both vegetables clean them extra well. I sliced the bok choy in halves and let them soak 10 minutes in water and rinsed them twice after that. The yu choy got the ends trimmed off and I also rinsed them twice. The yu choy are very similar to spinach but have a nicer texture and are a little sweeter. Serving sizes may differ.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
2 lbs Bok Choy or Yu Choy or 1/2 and 1/2 – cleaned up – Bok Choy cut in half, yu choy with stem end trimmed
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon hoisen sauce
Directions
in the bowl that you are serving your vegetables in add the soy sauce and hoisin and mix well. Set to the side.
Bring pot of water to boil with one Tablespoon of toasted sesame oil in it.
For Yu Choy – about 30 seconds in the water and drain. Add to bowl with sauce and mix well and serve immediately.
For Bok Choy – lad up a steamer basket with the Bok Choy bulb sides down and leaves up. Boil the bulbs till tender. (about 2 minutes) Then let the rest boil about 30 seconds. Lift out and drain. Mix in bowl with the soy and hoisin sauce. Serve immediately.
I was paging threw my Milk Street Magazine and was reading the recipe for Vindaloo Chicken. I thought it sounded great but I wanted to make a complete meal that was a little healthier with lots of vegetables. I cook this way because the meal comes out delicious and is very anti-inflammatory to boost your immune. We all need this these days. I converted Milk Street’s recipe to quasi-stewing a chicken (parts or all thighs ) with Milk Street’s flavors. I did a great job thanks to Milk Streets recipe and my expertise on quasi-stewing chicken. I do note that the skin of the chicken will not be edible and you will have to pull all the meat. You also might want to chill the vegetable and soupy liquid over night (with the chicken separate so you can scrap the fat off the top and then re-heat for serving. For this recipe you can use any kind of bone in with skin chicken that is 3-4 1/2 pounds for this recipe. The amount of servings will differ…and my idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. You can pretty much count on 4 dinners with extra chicken…The extra chicken leftover will be around 2-4 lunches of chicken.
Ingredients for 4 servings (with some extra pulled chicken)
1 L onion – diced
3 ribs celery – diced
2 L carrots – diced
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves – chopped fine
1 teaspoon vegetable base
1 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar (vindaloo paste)
12 garlic cloves – chopped (vindaloo paste)
1 teaspoon granulated ginger (vindaloo paste)
2 Tablespoons sweet paprika (vindaloo paste)
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar (vindaloo paste)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (vindaloo paste)
2 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric (vindaloo paste)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds (vindaloo paste)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (vindaloo paste)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (vindaloo paste)
1 hot pepper chopped (I used a Serrano) (vindaloo paste)
4 lbs chicken skin on with bone (I used thighs)
1 Tablespoon ground sea salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or to taste
fresh cilantro to finish with
Directions
Set oven to 400 F.
Make the vindaloo paste.
Blend together the vinager, 12 garlic cloves, ginger, paprika, brown sugar, cloves, turmeric. cumin seeds, cayenne, cinnamon, hot pepper, salt and pepper. Half the vindaloo paste stays on the bowl and the other half gets rubbed all over the chicken or chicken parts and put to the side.
In a big pan to half buffet pan add the onion, celery, carrots, bay leaves, 3 garlic cloves. in a bowl or pitcher mix together the water, vegetable base and the remaining half of the vindaloo paste and pour it over the vegetables. Now lay the chicken or chicken parts on top of the vegetables. (if it’s a whole chicken breast side down) Coverly tight with foil and place on a middle rack till the chicken is at least 165 degrees F (165-180 is ideal) It will take around 2 hours. Maybe a bit less Maybe a bit more.
When done remove the chicken so it can cool.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove the skin and pull all the meat off the bones and put meat in a container and refrigerate.
When the soupy vegetables cool down to around room temperature you need to refrigerate over night (if desired) and the next day you can scrape the fat off the surface.
Reheat and add additional leftover vegetables if desired. Finish with a small amount of fresh cilantro.
Vindaloo Flavored Chicken Stew
It’s FORKING DELICIOUS!
A special THANKS! to Milk Street Magazine for their delicious recipe for vindaloo so I could make my inspiration of Vindaloo Flavored Chicken Stew.
This recipe is inspired by Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson from Food & Wine Magazine. I’m sure the original recipe is spectacular and I never would have came up with this exact recipe if I never came across the Kramer/Hymanson Recipe. As great as it sounded I had to make many changes for a few different reasons. I made most changes due to what I had around my house that I had to use. (different eggplants, different onions and different cherries and different dairy product) I also changed the cooking method to the eggplant because I am not going to fry an eggplant twice….because eggplants are sponges for oil…For me that is way too much oil to absorb. For my taste or due to my ingredients the recipe made too much seasoning for my four eggplants so I say season to taste. maybe the last biggest change was that I made urfa peppered feta to go on top of the eggplant instead of lining the plate with lebneh that I didn’t have. If you want to do the original recipe it is very easy to find on the internet. I suggest to read both recipes and see what is better for you. I need to note that this recipe takes two days to prepare. Chefs Kramer and Hymanson came up with a method to brine the eggplants that I never did before. I tried it and maybe it made a difference….You also should pickle the onions the day before two. My idea of serving size may indeed differ from your idea of serving size. This recipe makes around four servings.
Ingredients for around servings.
4 eggplants (if using Italian eggplants score 1/8 deep in quarters long ways or of using Chinese eggplants just score long ways 1/8 deep once)
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
8 cups warm water
2 small onions peeled and sliced very thin crosswise (this makes more onions than you need but extra stays good for about three weeks)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon allspice berries
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cardamon seeds
non stick cooking spray
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane
1 lemon -fresh squeezed juice + zest (zest is for finishing)
1/4 cup Amarina cherries – drained (finishing)
2 Tablespoons hazelnuts – toasted and crushed (finishing)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (finishing)
2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves (finishing)
3 oz feta cheese – crumbled (preferably a quality creamy not too tangy feta)
1 1/2 teaspoon urfa pepper (usually sold in Middle Eastern Aisle of Asian Market)
Directions
Day one Brine Eggplant and Pickle Onions Make Baharat Spice.
In a large bowl mix together 8 cups of warm water with the 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt and the one cup oof sugar. Brine the scored eggplants. I put my eggplants in gallon ziplock bags that rest in tubs and I used plastic wrap to hold them in the brine and they sat in the refrigerator over night.
In a small bowl soak onion slices in ice water for 15 minutes and then drain. Mix up 1/2 cup of warm water with the vinegar salt and sugar and add to the drained onions, cover and refrigerate over night.
in a small dry skillet on medium high heat you need to heat the spices till fragrant. (allspice, coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns, cardamon seeds) Let cool and grind to powder.
Next day
Set oven to 500 degrees F. Spray baking sheets with non stick spray.
Eggplant gets cut into bite sized pieces and goes skin side down on baking sheet(s) and stays in oven till brown (but not burnt around 45 minutes.
While eggplant is cooking get a small fry pan on medium high heat with olive oil add garlic to olive oil cook till fragrant and take off heat. Add fresh lemon juice. When eggplant is done pour garlic olive oil over eggplants and season lightly with sea salt. Put back in oven for about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl mix the crumbled feta with urfa pepper.
Take out of oven and assemble.
Spread out eggplant on a platter. Add cherries, peppered feta, parsley, tarragon, hazelnuts, pickled onions and top with lemon zest.
Baharat – Spiced Eggplant with Pickled Onions, Hazelnuts, Cherries, Herbs and Urfa Peppered Feta
It’s delicious and Different enjoy!
A special THANKS to Chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson and Food and Wine Magazine for this Inspiration!
I was watching chef Vivian Howard’s Food Show called Somewhere South on PBS. She visited chef Cheetie Kumar and she made this green tomato and watermelon rind achaar that sounded delicious. Last week Safeway had these watermelons for 65cents each and I had a lot of watermelon rind so I wanted to make this recipe. I didn’t have all the ingredients but I had enough to get it to taste similar. I didn’t have green tomatoes but a traditional ingredient for this recipe is green unripe mango. I didn’t have that either. But Costco dropped off a package of 6 mangos that I didn’t order so I decided I would use them here. Chef Kumar would not approve of this recipe because you must use an ingredient called mustard oil. I don’t have mustard oil and I’m not l’m not searching for it during the pandemic so I ground some mustard seeds instead. My recipe is very different from chef Kumar’s recipe but it did come out amazing and I did use the majority of her seasonings. I also note that my idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
1 watermelon rind – green removed and cut in planks (around 3 lbs)
1/4.cup kosher salt + water to brine watermelon rinds
6 mangos (I used yellow) skin and seeds removed and cut in planks
1 teaspoon kosher salt – to salt mangos
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 teaspoons nigella seeds ( also known as black cumin)
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 oz white sugar
1 oz turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup white vinager
Directions
Toss the watermelon rinds with 1/4 cup kosher salt and place in a colander and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Toss the mango with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and place in either a bowl or quart ziplock bag and let sit in the refrigerator along with the watermelon rind for four hours.
After 4 hours drain and rinse the watermelon rinds and just drain the mango and keep to the side.
Boil the watermelon rinds in water for 5 minutes and rinse and drain watermelon rinds again.
Combine vinegars and sugar. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Add rinds and cook till rinds are clear. Remove from heat and drain and discard liquid.
Grind your spices together and then mix with the three ounces of sugar and one teaspoon salt.
In a wok or deep skillet heat up oil toll it’s hot and add the spices mixed with the sugar and salt. Mix well till fragrant. Add the rinds and mix well. Add the vinegar and let it boil a few minutes and then shut off heat and fold in the mango.
It’s delicious and full of flavors you will love it!
Watermelon Rind and Sweet Mango Avhaar
I special THANKS to chef Cheetie Kumar for your wonderful recipe to inspire me to create this delicious dish.
I came across a jarred version of Hungarian Borscht by Gold’s on the internet. It’s different and is made of the usual soup vegetables, beets, cabbage and spicy paprika. I thought that sounds delicious and I happen to have beets and cabbage that I have to use up so I wanted to make it. I looked for recipes for Hungarian Borscht and came across many other varieties of borscht. There is Russian Borscht with cabbage, beets, potatoes, caraway seed, dill and sour cream, Another is Jewish Borscht that is cabbage, beets, tomatoes, short ribs and is sweet and sour. There is also meatless Polish Borscht that is made with a lot of mushrooms. Another is Mennonite Borscht that is made with a beef base and carrots, potatoes, beets, cabbage, tomatoes, allspice, star anise and heavy cream. I thought the Hungarian Style sounded like what I wanted to do today. I didn’t have recipe and winged it off the ingredients from The Gold’s Jar of Hungarian Borscht I saw on the internet. It came out FORKING DELICIOUS! It’s a hearty vegetable stew. It’s delicious and zippy…not as spicy as you might think. I didn’t call it Hungarian because I made up this recipe from just reading the ingredients from a jarred product. My idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size. To me this makes around 6 medium sized bowls.
Ingredients for around 6 servings.
2 carrots – peeled, diced
2 celery ribs – diced
1/2 large sweet onion – diced
1 hot Hungarian pepper – fine chopped (they sell them at Asiana Market I buy them and keep in freezer for when I need them..very hot but delicious)
1 lb beets – peeled, diced
5 oz tomato – diced
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane
6 oz tomato paste (one small can)
5 cups vegetable stock
1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 small cabbage – sliced extra thin on a mandolin (I used green but either is fine)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large pot on medium high heat add the oil. When the oil is hot add the carrots, celery, onion, Hungarian pepper, beets, tomato, sea salt and black pepper. Stir well and cover pot and cook till vegetables or fork tender (around 9 minutes depending on dice size…timing may differ).
Remove cover and add the garlic. Mix well. In the center of the vegetables make an empty spot. In the empty spot add the tomato paste and stir it up bit to cook it up for a minute or two. Then mix it all up and add the vegetable stock and mix well. Add the paprikas and let this simmer around 10 minutes.
Next add the cabbage. Stir it around. Add the vinegar. Let this simmer around 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. A dap of sour cream or a hard boiled egg is optional.
These meatballs were made from a whole brisket where we trimmed off a lot of the fat and ground the beef ourselves. The meatballs came out flavorful but not too spicy just flavorful. They are moist but not mushy. I was told that they are very good! My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. With a small size scooper this made 76 and two mini taster meatballs. So that makes 15 or more servings (15-20) depending on how many you eat at a time and the size that you make the balls.
3 lbs ground brisket (preferably on the lean side)
1 large sweet onion – minced
1 Tablespoon bomba (Calabrian Italian hot pepper condiment)
1/2 cup parsley leaves
6 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons vegetable base (adds flavor and lowers the salt content)
6 eggs – beaten
8 oz whole wheat panko (Japanese bread crumbs that are lighter and airier)
3 Tablespoons dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 Tablespoons water ********YOU MIGHT NEED LESS OR MORE depending on how the beef looks…my meat was very lean and I guessed 4 Tablespoons…and it was right. Don’t add too much or they will come out mushy. If you don’t know if you need water do your tester meat ball now (before you add water and see if it is too dry. If you add water add two tablespoons and do another tester meatball….so you can guess better.
non stick spray
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray some baking sheets with non stick spray and set to the side.
In a large mixing bowl add EVERYTHING except for the meat and mix well.
Now mix in the beef till it’s all incorporated.
Do a tester 1/2 size meatball in the oven. It will be done in 6-7 minutes. Let it cool and taste it. Decide if it needs a little more moisture. Add maybe 2 tablespoons water and taste again. Add only 2 Tablespoons more water at a time till you like the meatballs. Use a small scooper and space the meatballs slightly.
This size scooper
Fill up the oven and they will be done in around 15 minutes if you used the small scooper.
Serve with your favorite tomato sauce or the winter tomato sauce recipe from The Forking Truth.
