Persia and the Middle East

I'm at the stage in this project where I've made quite a few curries, a few Italian recipes, some Spanish and Latin American dishes and I'm craving something a bit more unusual.

Middle Eastern cooking is something I would love to investigate: I love the subtle warmth of spices in middle eastern and north-African cookery, and the subtle balancing of couscous, dried fruits, nuts, lamb. Beyond houmous and pitta bread its not all that easy to find good examples of food from the region in the UK. Actually, I think that the pitta and houmous you can generally find over here probably isn't that good when you compare it to the real thing.



I recently discovered that my local library has a rather good selection of recipe books, which gives me wonderful chances to experiment with new recipes without making my bank manager cry.

Last week I unearthed an old Middle Eastern cookery book by Claudia Roden. Its crammed with fantastic sounding recipes, so I've been struggling to choose where to start by experimenting.



This weekend I finally made a decision and attempted Spinach with Almonds, Terbiyeli Kofte (Turkish Lamb meatballs in lemon sauce), and steamed rice. Served with a small bowl of kalamata olives it all felt suitably authentic!

Terbiyeli Kofte

For the meatballs:

250g lean minced lamb
1 slice white bread (crusts cut off)
1/2 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
salt

For the sauce:

1 egg yolk
juice 1/2-3/4 lemon
100ml water
salt and pepper

First make the meatballs.
Soak the bread in a splash of warm water, then squeeze the liquid out and combine with all the other ingredients, mixing well with your hands until it is all smooth and well-combined.
Form the mixture into marble-sized meatballs. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil, reduce to a simmer and poach the meatballs for about 15-20 minutes.

Put the rice on to cook at this stage if you are having it as an accompaniment.

When the meatballs have about 10 minutes left to go make the sauce:
Bring half a pan of water to simmer point.
In a heat proof bowl (which will fit over your pan of water) stir the egg yolk until pale, then gradually add the lemon juice stirring as you go.
Once the lemon is incorporated add the water and season with salt and a little pepper.
Place the bowl on top of the pan of simmering water and warm through. DON'T let the sauce get to simmering point or it will curdle.

When the sauce is warm fish the meatballs out of their water with a slotted spoon. Put them in the lemon sauce and gently stir them round to coat them.

Serve.

I think that poaching meatballs is a fantastic way to cook them. I make a pasta recipe where the meatballs are poached in tomato sauce. They come out soft and flavoursome, and its a healthier way to cook. They really don't need to be fried.

The lemon sauce may sound like a wierd thing to put with meatballs, but trust me - its unusual but gorgeous.

This went well with spinach. Its definitely making it onto by 'make again' list, and I'll be working my way through more recipes from the same book in the coming weeks.