Lamb, Grated Beets and Millet Meatballs

If you only own a few cookbooks, which I do, Nigel Slater's Tender should be one of them. It's not a vegetarian cookbook, but it's organized by vegetable. So if you have a vegetable, you can just look in the table of contents for dozens of recipe ideas. It's awesome.

Also awesome is his recipe for beet and lamb meatballs. It's a fantastic way to lighten and sweeten the ground lamb while packing in the nutrition found in beets. I followed his recipe fairly closely but substituted millet for the cracked wheat and cilantro for parsley.

Mix together approximately 14 ounces of ground lamb and 10 ounces of grated beets. Add one grated onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves and 3 tablespoons of herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro or whatever sounds good to you). Add approximately half a cup of cracked wheat or millet. Mix it all together with salt and pepper. Form into around 16 small patties and chill for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly fry each meatball on each side until brown and then transfer to a baking sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes in the oven. You'll have to try one to see if they are done as they stay a gorgeous color red even when cooked.
                                                    

Chickpea Flour Fritters with Spinach, Red Onion and Potatoes

I have been having fritter envy lately. It started with Smitten Kitchen’s post about cauliflower and feta fritters with pomegranate that people have been raving about lately. They look awesome! Unfortunately, most fritters contain the still-banned flour, eggs, cheese or all of the above. Sigh. Refusing to give up, I did a bit of research and…Indian pakoras to the rescue!

http://fortheloveofyum.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/pakoras-chickpea-flour-fritters-with-spinach-red-onion-and-potatoes/

These fried snacks are made with very thinly sliced red onions and potatoes, spinach and are packed with fresh spices. They hold together well and are easy to flip…especially if you are liberal with the oil. I’m becoming increasingly convinced that chickpea flour is the solution to all the world’s problems…or at least my cravings!

Chicken Thighs Glazed with Lemon and Kalamata Olives

Chicken breasts are rarely very good. While ubiquitous on everything from Caesar salads to sandwiches, they are often tasteless and dry. They make for terrible leftovers since heating them up tends to dry them out even more. They are also expensive. Chicken thighs, however, have much more flavor and just enough fat to keep them tender and juicy when grilled, sautéed or thrown into curries. And they are much cheaper!

Last night I made this simple chicken recipe for fellow salt-lover Amie J. It’s a delicious combination of lemons, Kalamata olives, tarragon and capers that comes together quickly and is packed with flavor. I used chickpea flour instead of regular flour and regular lemons.

http://food52.com/recipes/9387-chicken-thighs-glazed-with-meyer-lemon-and-kalamata-olives

Double the recipe. Chicken thighs make great leftovers!