Gingery Pork Meatballs with Swiss Chard

 

Gingery Pork Meatballs with Swiss Chard

The question is…  Do I write this up as I made it or do I write it up as the recipe was written?  Since we LOVED this dish I’m going with how I made it.  This recipe came from Comfort in an Instant by Melissa Clark.  We’ve pretty much been cooking our way through the cookbook.  The one no-go was the Lebanese Chicken Soup.  I found it sounded a lot better than it was.  And, Connie’s not a fan of soup so he certainly didn’t help the process.  Now, back to the pork meatballs!

I put the Swiss Chard stems in ice water to revitalize the droopy leaves.  Then, I pulled out the instant pot.  And the new steamer basket I’d never used.  UGH!  The steamer basket was too big.  So much for following the recipe!  I’d done a taste test in a small skillet so I rolled four meatballs and popped them in the skillet while I thought about how to do the Swiss Chard.  We’ve really enjoyed it sauteed so that ought to work…  After 8 of the meatballs were done I put the chopped stems into the skillet with the last four meatballs.  Then, once those were done I took them out and added in the chopped chard leaves.  On the other side of the stove was a saucepan of fine egg noodles. 

What did we think?  We both LOVED the meatballs and the chard.  For a vegetable that neither of us had tried until a handful of years ago it certainly has moved right up the hit list!  During the summer when we’ve got a garden it’s a weekly favorite.  I added a bit of seasoning to the meatballs.  More garlic, more soy sauce, more fish sauce, more chili garlic sauce.  Oh, wait the chili garlic sauce was a total addition!  LOL. 

Good news there are six meatballs left.  And, there’s also a serving of chicken green bean casserole.  Means that whoever snags whatever has some good eating on the way!

Ingredients:

2 T toasted sesame oil

2 shallots or 1 sm red onion, finely diced

3 oz shitake or cremini mushroom caps, finely diced

1 serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced

1 T finely grated fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

Finely grated zest of one lime

2 t soy sauce

2 t Asian fish sauce

Salt

1 lb ground pork or turkey

1/3 c panko bread crumbs

1 egg

1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems and leaves chopped but separate

 

Directions:

Saute the onion and mushrooms and jalapenos in the oil.  NB:  I used olive oil here since the sesame oil’s flavor is a bit fragile.  Add in the garlic, ginger, lime, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Once the onion is translucent and the mushrooms are softened, remove the skillet from the heat.  In a medium bowl combine the pork, egg, panko and mushroom/onion mixture.  Put about a teaspoon of the mixture into a skillet and cook it through to test it for seasoning.  Add more as desired.  I added more of several of the ingredients.  Once you’ve adjusted the seasoning to your liking, roll the meatballs. 

 

Saute the meatballs in a skillet.  For 2” diameter meatballs they’ll take about 3 minutes per side – assuming there are three sides.  Remove the meatballs to a plate.  Once you’re ready for the last batch, toss the chard stems into the middle of the skillet.  Then, when you remove those meatballs, add in the chard leaves.  Again, add seasoning as you desire.  I used a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce.  Let the leaves wilt but don’t let them become soggy. 

 

Serve with rice or noodles. 

adapted from Comfort in an Instant

Scallops with Basil Cream, Farro with Swiss Chard and Hazelnuts and Buttered Beets with Pine Nuts

I cooked for three evenings straight and had a great time being home and getting to cook.  We'd been gone so much that I'd pretty much forgotten what my kitchen looked like.  About a month ago I started prepping for the two dinner parties.  Making lists of potential recipes.  Finding out what folks liked and didn't like.  Wednesday after work Connie headed to the grocery store and I headed to the kitchen.  And, proceeded to cook for almost three hours.  It was well worth the time and effort because we now have several new recipes that we'll make again.  A couple that will be go-to's. 

Wednesday evening was scallops with basil cream sauce.  Then, I had some Swiss chard in the front bed that I knew I needed to use.  (And, you can see the gorgeous lilies too!)

I found a recipe with farro and kale and figured the chard would be a perfect substitution.  The third dish was one that sold me on the cookbook - buttered beets with pine nuts.  We gave each and every dish a five.  The scallops were quick and easy and incredible.  Actually, the same description can be applied to the other two dishes.  Just amazing.

Thursday was catfish etouffee with a kale salad.  Both were good but not standouts like the night before. 

Then, Friday evening.  That was zesty hummus for an appetizer.  That's going to be a new family favorite.  It was so easy and so flavorful and SO beautiful.  Dinner was shrimp and mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce over Texas toast.  Alongside was a roasted carrot salad that was very complex and very tasty and a cucumber/beet/radish salad.  The cucumber salad was good but probably isn't one we'll make again.  If I'm going to have cucumber salad I want Christiane's cucumber/feta/herb salad.  It's killer.  I'll work on posting these recipes another day...

So, let's dig in on some recipes here:

Scallops with Cream and Basil
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

6 T butter
12 sea scallops
salt and pepper
1/4 c chopped shallots
1 t slivered garlic
pinch crushed red chile flakes
1/2 c dry white wine
3/4 c heavy cream
20 basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt 4T of the butter.  When it's hot, add the scallops. Salt and pepper them to taste.  Brown both sides of the scallops.  Remove them from the heat before they've cooked through.  Wipe out the pan and add the other 2T of butter.  When it's melted, add the shallots,  Saute until they're softened.  Then, add the garlic and the chile flakes.  Cook that for about a minute and don't let the garlic get too brown.  Add in the white wine and cook over relatively high heat until it's reduced by half.  Then, add the cream and cook the sauce down until it's reduced by half.  Once that's done, add the scallops and pan juices back to the pan.  Add half the basil after about a minute.  When the scallops are just firm, you're ready to serve.  Top the scallops with the remaining basil as you serve them. 

adapted from the New York Times

Farro with Kale or Swiss Chard
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 c pearled farro
salt and pepper
3 T EVOO
1/4 lb pancetta or guanciale, chopped (I omitted this but would add it next time)
4 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch Tuscan kale or 1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped (I thinly sliced the stems and sautéed them and added them in)
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/3 c chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions:

Cook the farro as per the package instructions.  Drain it and set the pan aside.  Pour the EVOO into a large skillet and add the pancetta.  Use medium heat.  Once the pancetta is lightly browned, add the shallots.  When those have softened, add the garlic.  Cook for a few minutes then add the kale or Swiss chard and let it wilt.  Stir in the chicken stock and the nutmeg, lower the heat and let it simmer until the greens are just softened.  Combine the greens, farro, lemon juice and hazelnuts to serve.

adapted from Rachael Ray


Buttered Beets w Pine Nuts
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 beet
butter
balsamic vinegar
pine nuts

Directions:

Peel and grate the beet on the large holes of your grater.  Brown the pine nuts in about a tablespoon of butter.  Spoon the pine nuts out of the butter and add the grated beets.  Cook for a few minutes until they're tender.  Add a dash (about a teaspoon) of the balsamic.  Serve topped with the pine nuts.

adapted from A Fresh Taste of Italy

Swiss Chard Slaw

Being home for dinner for four evenings during a week is cause for celebration.  And, cause for creating a menu.  Well, a semblance of a menu.  In reality it's a list of dishes I'd like to make during the week for dinners and lunches.  I had a Cuisine at Home and a Rachael Ray magazine in the car along with Gastro Grilling.  We were heading to Sam's so I knew a rotisserie chicken was in our future.  There's a package of lamb chops to use up.  Connie requested the linguine.  We've still got plenty of Swiss chard in the garden.  And, there's the rest of a bag of onion rolls to use up.  Here's what's on our list for this week:

lamb chops with pine nut, mint and goat cheese pesto
cherry turkey arugula sandwiches
eggplant involtini
quinoa tabbouleh
chicken salad sandwiches
greek salad
swiss chard slaw
linguine with clam sauce
roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes
watermelon with mint cream
Secret Recipe Club baking project

Now, I need to turn that into a real menu! 

We started on Saturday with the usual after the office shopping route:  Penzeys, Trader Joes, Sams and Marsh.  Home by 6:30.  We both really wanted the eggplant involtini.  It's one of those dishes we both crave.  I pulled the recipe up on the blog.  But, along the way I looked at all the other eggplant dishes we've made.  YUM!  I'm looking forward to our eggplants from our garden!! 

What from the list would go well?  The Swiss chard slaw.  Actually, the recipe was written for collard greens.  I was, as usual, substituting.  I also substituted red onion for the scallions since the scallions I thought I had had been used up...

What did we think?  Fantastic.  The only thing I might think about doing differently is swapping some of the cider vinegar for balsamic to sweeten the dish just a tiny bit. 

Swiss Chard Slaw

Ingredients:

1 lb Swiss chard (I used two mongo leaves - see photo)
1 c julienned carrots
1 c sliced scallions (I substituted 1/2 a medium red onion)
1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted (see instructions for what I did with these)
1 t butter
1 t Cajun seasoning
4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
1/2 c cider vinegar
1 T each sugar and minced garlic
2 t dry mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small skillet, cook the diced bacon.  While it's cooking, one at a time lay the Swiss Chard leaves on a cutting board and cut out the center ribs. 

Once both leaves are de-ribbed, lay one on top of the other then roll the chard.  Slice it thinly. 

Then, slice once down the middle so you've got manageable sized strips. 

Wash the chard in a salad spinner or wash and pat it dry.  Julienne the carrots and onions.  In another small skillet, put about a teaspoon of butter.  Add the pecans and some Cajun seasoning (I use Emeril's recipe.) 

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and dry mustard.  Now, you're ready to start putting this together.  Remove the bacon from the grease and drain it.  Add the vinegar mixture into the warm bacon grease.  Toss everything together and allow the slaw to sit for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. 

And, yes, that's really critical as the flavors blend and soften considerably over the 30 minutes.



adapted from Cuisine at Home

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard

Our garden is producing like crazy.  We put in six Swiss chard plants and only one made it.  But, it's glorious.  And, the romaine lettuce is so beautiful.  Peas are coming on.  We've got a few baby tomatoes.  The mesclun mix is taking over.  And, we've got almost a whole bed of arugula.  A veritable bounty of veggies.  Connie's been bugging me to please use the Swiss chard.  I'd thawed a pound of lamb stew meat from our friend's at Viking Lamb to make Giggles, The Kitchen Witch's lamb stew for later this week.  It's a dish that's better left overnight.  That meant I still needed something for dinner...  And, I really needed to be thinking about lunch too since what's left at the office is all frozen or canned. 

I knew there was a lamb recipe in Carnivore (Michael Symon) that son David wanted me to make.  My memory did not serve me well because I was convinced it was lamb stew.  So, I hunted for the cookbook to compare that recipe to Giggles.  Well, now, as I looked thru I saw a recipe for Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard.  Score.  I didn't have chorizo but I did have about a pound of pulled pork.  My guess was that I could toss about half a pound of that with the chorizo spices and be good to go.  I went back to the chorizo recipe from Hoosier Mama.  We made this a couple of months ago and totally loved it.  And, since I was using pulled pork, I substituted pinto beans.  There.   I had a plan.  Dinner for Sunday.  Dinner for Monday.  And, lunch for Monday was on it's way...

What did we think?  We absolutely loved this.  I wasn't sure the flavors would all work together but they certainly did.  This was so easy to make and for us used mostly pantry ingredients or ingredients that could easily be substituted, my guess is it'll become one of our go-to meals. 

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 lb dried orecchiette pasta (I used half as much)
1 lb fresh chorizo sausage, removed from the casing (see spices below if you're subbing pulled pork)
1 lb Swiss chard with stems, roughly chopped
1 c cannellini beans (I used pinto)
grated zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c chopped fresh leaf parsley
2 T unsalted butter
1 T extra-virgin olive oil

spices I used for the pulled pork:
2 t sweet paprika
2 t finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 t granulated sugar
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 T red wine vinegar

Directions:

Start a large pot of water boiling.  Once it's ready to go, add the pasta.  Cook it for a couple of minutes less than the package directions.  If you're using the chorizo, brown and drain it.  If you're using the pulled pork, toss it with the spices and set it aside. 

Either add the chopped Swiss chard to the chorizo or put a good drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet, heat it to shimmering and add the Swiss chard.  Once it's wilted, add 1/4 c of the pasta water, the beans, pasta and butter. 

If you're using pulled pork, add it at this time too.  Cook all of that until the pasta is al dente.  Then, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice, the parsley, extra virgin olive oil and the parsley.

Basic recipe from Carnivore.  Chorizo spices from Hoosier Mama Book of Pie