Bon Appetit's Middle Eastern Bison Meatballs

For a while now I have been taking considerable effort to know where my meat comes from, focusing on grass fed or free range meats, and to look at local sources of meat. One of my local meat sources is a Bison farm, so when I saw this recipe in Bon Apetite, with a middle eastern hint, I knew it was one for me to try. The sauce is delectable so I highly recommend keeping extra on hand as a sauce for other dishes.

Middle Eastern Bison Meatballs with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup whole-milk Greek-style yogurt*
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Meatballs:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chile (about 1 large)
• 2 tablespoons whole-milk Greek-style yogurt
• 1 1/4 pounds ground bison (often labeled buffalo)
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation

For cilantro-yogurt sauce:
Toast all seeds in small skillet over medium heat until aromatic and slightly darker in color, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Cool. Finely grind seeds in spice mill or coffee grinder. Place cilantro and all remaining ingredients in blender. Add 1 teaspoon ground seeds and process until smooth sauce forms, scraping down sides frequently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover sauce and chill. Reserve remaining ground seeds for meatballs. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Store remaining ground seeds in airtight container at room temperature.

For meatballs:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes (do not brown). Cool. Toss breadcrumbs with milk in small bowl to moisten. Place cooled onion mixture, breadcrumb mixture, reserved ground seeds from cilantro-yogurt sauce, jalapeno, and yogurt in processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarse puree forms. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add bison, egg, cilantro, sage, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, pepper, and allspice. Using hands or fork, mix until just blended. Using damp hands, form bison mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer meatballs to rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven to keep warm up to 15 minutes.

Serve meatballs with cilantro-yogurt sauce for dipping.

*A thick yogurt; sold at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores (such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods), and Greek markets. If unavailable, place plain whole-milk yogurt in cheesecloth-lined strainer set over large bowl. Cover and chill 4 hours to drain.

Hummus

Hummus is a popular Middle Eastern dish which may be one of the worlds oldest prepared foods. It is high in iron and Vitamin C, and is a good source of Folate and B6. When engaged, I was fortunate enough to have 2 wedding showers. The shower my awesome brides maids threw for me which included a potluck recipe share. All the recipes were put into my recipe box that I am now sharing recipes from. My college roommate La brought yummy hummus so this recipe is hers!

Ingredients
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Tamari
1 Tablespoon Curry powder
2 15-ounce cans chick peas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Process

1. In a food processor, puree: onion, garlic,lemon juice, vinegar, tamari, and curry powder until mixture is smooth.
   
2. Add half of the chick peas and half of the tahini and blend until smooth.
   
3. Add the remaining chick peas and tahini and blend coarsely so the mixture is chunky.
4. Toast the sesame seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat until they are golden. Shake the pan or stir constantly to avoid burning.
   
5. Add sesame seeds and parsley to hummus and stir to blend.
   
6. Adjust seasonings to taste.
   

Fold into a bowl, with maybe a sprinkle of paprika over it, and serve with fresh vegetables or pita chips or points

Middle Eastern Kebab Marinade

Tonight was a refrigerator dinner night, that is, one of those evenings when you know you have odds and ends in the fridge that you need to use. Tonight the left over stock, raw pork and chicken were demanding to be cooked, so I thought to create a nice spicy marinade. We are serving it with the Caesar salad. To prepare the marinade, combine the following ingredients

Ingredients for Marinade

1/8 cup stock

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon tomato paste (I actually had some homemade left)

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 /8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoons Olive oil

A couple grinds of Salt

Several grinds of black pepper

Marinate the meat in it for at least 30 minutes before preparing on skewers.

You may make additional skewers with onions and your choice of kebab veggies but they may want to start them about 15 minutes ahead of the meat. Arrange meat and veggies onto Kebabs.

Bake on a broiler tray at 425 for 30 minutes or more, until done. This could also be done on the grill. Tonight, when cooked, I will be serving it with a side sauce of last nights attempt at homemade ranch dressing. The dill, buttermilk, and sour cream in it could make it a decent tzatziki, but I didn't like it enough to post the recipe - YET!