I’ve been waiting all week to post these bad boys.
This past weekend, Husband and I hosted my parents. Normally, this is a good excuse to shuttle off to that restaurant we’ve been dying to try but can’t quite justify the expense…but since my parents were coming off a 3-day Civil War/college reunion tour, they wanted some home-cooked food. Enter sandman Deb Perelman.
Tip: next time your parents are coming off a 3-day Civil War tour (I’ll let you all ponder that in your heads. Parental units hopping on and off a bus, checking out battlefields, dressed in orange and/or tiger stripes, chanting about Old Nassau. My dad , the civil war buff, bopping about in his Abe Lincoln t-shirt. My mom, the bewildered German, wondering when the part is when she gets to see her kids. Makes me giggle.) make them this.
Spicy Sesame Turkey Meatballs & Smashed Chickpeas with Tzatziki (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
for your meatballs
- 1 pound ground turkey (use a mixture of lean and fatty meat, so it does not dry out)
- about 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 large egg
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- small handful cumin
- small handful coriander
- large pinch of salt & pepper
- about a tablespoon of crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (better if toasted quickly)
for your chickpeas
- 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- small handful sumac
- a big bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
- juice from 1 lemon
- a bit of lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- pinch salt, pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper
- olive oil
- optional: olives (blech) or anchovy paste (yum), to add brininess
for your tzatziki sauce
- about two cups plain Greek yogurt
- about 1/2 cucumber, finely diced
- juice from 1/2 lemon, plus a little grated zest
- pinch of salt & pepper
- optional: fresh dill, 1 clove minced garlic (there’s lots of garlic in the rest of this recipe, so I omitted it, or I should say, Husband omitted it, since he’s in charge of tzatsiki in our house!)
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Comine all of your meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, using your hands, but do not overwork the meat. Shape the meat into little golf balls.
- Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large saute pan and brown the meatballs. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- On a large pan covered with aluminum foil (to make your cleanup easier!), bake the meatballs for about 10 – 13 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get your smashed chickpea salad going. Combine all of the chickpea ingredients in one bowl, minus olive oil. Mash (a potato masher works well!) together – leave it a big chunky. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste.
- Finally, mix all of your tzatziki ingredients together in another bowl. Season to taste.
- Serve everything together, all at once, and let the praise wash over you like a college fight song.
The Verdict:
I know it LOOKS like a lot, but if you have the ingredients, this is easy-peasy and oh-so-good. Mom, Dad & Husband all raved about this little combination, which we also served with salad and pita bread…tiding us all over until the next Civil War battlefield tour.