Two-for-one special or Kate makes Greek-inspired recipes

Some people go down YouTube bunny trails and suddenly find that they've lost a few hours. I'm more likely to do that with my favorite fictional universe's wiki ('favorite' here meaning 'whatever I'm consuming at the time'), and I'm also highly likely to do this when looking for recipes.

The last time I did this, I found a recipe for avgolemono, a soup I've seen on many a Greek menu, but never tried. For some reason, this weekend seemed to be the perfect time to try it, and this recipe worked like a charm. It was easy, and tasty, and felt nourishing even as it felt light.

Ingredients

• 7 cups chicken stock (I used store-bought, 4 cups low-sodium, 3 cups regular. I am considering switching out a small amount for some vegetable broth for a bit more depth, not more than a Cup, more likely half of one. Alternately, I could make my own stock again. As soon as I have room to store it. Ha! #studioliving)
• 1 cup orzo pasta
• 3 eggs
• Juice of 1 large lemon (this worked out to about 1/4 Cup)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Lemon slices, to garnish

• In a large pot, bring the stock to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for five minutes. Turn off the heat. (if you have an electric stove, also move it to another burner).
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then add the lemon juice and one tablespoon of cold water. 
• Very slowly stir in a ladleful of the hot chicken stock, then add one or two more. With the heat still off, add the egg mixture to the pot and stir well. 
• Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, garnished with lemon slices and fresh herbs

I was nervous that the stock was still going to be so hot it cooked the eggs when I added the first ladleful, so I gently shook the ladle over the egg mixture with one hand and kept stirring with the other. This seems to have done the trick. I hadn't grabbed fresh herbs when I went out to get lemons, so I kept it simple and added some dried parsley.

It was delicious and I managed to keep myself from eating it all. I did have a couple accompaniments. Half a pita and some hummus and a red pepper/feta dip.  (note: I used a food processor)

I'd made the dip before following a recipe that I didn't bookmark, but I wanted to play around a little. I'm only going to be able to give you approximations for starting. This is a taste you want to customize. 

• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• approx 8 ounces roasted red peppers from a jar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Calabrian chiles  in oil (also from a jar). I didn't drain, de-seed, or de-rib them.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (which totally got lost)

Put everything into the mixer's bowl. Mix/blend until the color is consistent. Add peppers in small amounts until you achieve the balance of flavors you like. Service with pita or pita chips, and sliced cucumbers. A few olives on the side aren't bad either.

A couple notes:

If you don't have the chilis in oil, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. If you're using a stand blender, I recommend putting the peppers in first so the cheese doesn't all clump around the bottom and clog the blades. I'd also advise using the pulse function and scraping the sides often. I didn't get a picture of the dip, but I'll be making it again soon, I'm sure. Maybe I'll make hummus again too, it's been a while.

Balls revisited.

Back in (holy cat!) 2010, I made a recipe of Greek Meatballs with Feta and Orzo. I got lucky, not only to find meat in this time of hoarding, but to find lamb, which is usually less expensive at this time of year.

I don't now why I waited so long to do this again. It's a fabulous recipe. I did cut the garlic down like I said would. I still didn't get any hint of cinnamon, but there is a warmth to these that I like quite a bit. 

The only other thing I changed was more feta upon serving, because feta.

Hope you're all coping with the various isolation and other Covid 19 precautions. Some of the next few entries will be dependent on what ingredients are either available or in the freezer. 

Balls!

I believe I mentioned a while back that ground beef is not my favorite thing. I really do try not to be a snob (sometimes I even succeed!), and this week's recipe is me exploring something I hadn't tried before--ground lamb, specifically meatballs.
To my surprise, I found this recipe on Cooking Light. You'll recall my original Adventures in Lemon Chicken I ended up adding wine (and therefore quite a few calories) to my lemon chicken.  
Without further ado, I bring you Greek Pasta with Meatballs:



• 2  cups  hot cooked orzo Cook the orzo while the meatballs are in the oven. 
• 1/3  cup  plain dry breadcrumbs I used panko, which I find a little softer than American bread crumbs. Completely up to you, of course.
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  pound  lean ground lamb
• 1  garlic clove, minced I used two, I'll use one next time. It overwhelmed the cinnamon
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 2  large egg whites If you've never separated an egg, check out this video featuring Chef Paul Prudhomme
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 2  cups  jarred marinara sauce I don't know about you, but having the time to make a good tomato sauce from scratch  isn't always in the cards for me. 
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

I added 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel.

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Keep warm. Go to step 3, seriously. cook your orzo while the meatballs are baking. Warmed-over pasta can have a mushy texture. If you're like me and insist on al dente, trust me, cook the orzo later.

3. Combine breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley. Add egg whites, stirring mixture until just combined. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; cover and chill meatballs 5 minutes. I see a large box of rubber gloves in my future. You really can't get the kind of blending from using a spoon that you get from putting clean hands in your mixture and seriously squishing it around. 

4. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs to pan; cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Drain well; wipe pan clean with paper towels. Return meatballs to pan. Spoon marinara sauce over meatballs; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375° for 11 minutes or until meatballs are done. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley. Serve over orzo.

A few comments. First off, I'm not sure how the author of this recipe got 12 1" meatballs. I got about sixteen 2" meatballs, which meant increasing the pan and the baking time by a few minutes each. While I am very much a proponent of rare meat, ground meat really needs to be cooked to at least medium rare. If you want tartare, make tartare.

We got a total of five meals out of this recipe. The initial serving, which came after some cold cucumber soup. Then Ken eating some leftovers, then the two of us eating the final leftovers. During the last  serving, I mixed some baby peas up with the orzo, which added a nice texture. I did like the coolness of the cucumber soup with it, though. I think I'll keep the two in combination.

Questions? Comments? Got a recipe you'd like me to try? Let's hear it!