fortification fridays

Back in the day, like four months ago or before all my energy was poured into reluctantly remodeling, I had planned to start a food blog. Mr. Reluctant and I were living in a rental house with a huge kitchen, all new appliances, and I could cook my brains out. I had been practicing my food photography with a budget camera and strange light, and I had been going through my recipes to find the yummiest ones.

Fast forward to Friday, January 19, 2007. Our kitchen has no vent, a half-operational stove, no microwave. I can't brown things on the range or cook anything for a long time in the oven or defrost chicken in five minutes.

But I'm still cooking, and I'd like to indulge myself by dedicating one day a week to recipes to fortify the remodeler for a weekend of projects. Just for kicks, I'm going to challenge myself to providing recipes that can be made in crippled, handicapped, er, handicapable kitchens. Honest, they can.

I'm relying on my oven for high heat and my new slow cooker for long cooking. These aren't necessarily going to be simple recipes, because I like to cook and usually make Middle Eastern, Japanese, or French-inspired recipes. But they might be an unusual addition to someone else's kitchen life, and I like the idea of being an unusual addition.

So I bring you Meatball Goodness Soup, the first recipe for Food Fortification Fridays!

Meatball Goodness Soup

This recipe was adapted 'til unrecognizable from May S. Bsisu's excellent cookbook The Arab Table. Bsisu's Rice and Meatball Soup (page 133) is a dish served to children at lunch and new mothers. It is also traditionally served at Easter by Middle Eastern Christians to break the fast of Lent. In short, it's a fortification soup. My version adds a jolt of tang via lemon and cilantro, plus the very non-Arab meat, pork.

If you plan ahead, you can make the lamb or beef stock the day before (I did) and freeze it for later. Stock is easily made in a slow cooker by roasting lamb shank or beef shank bones slicked with vegetable oil in a 425 degree oven until very brown (turn bones over once). You can also add onion wedges, and take them out when you turn over the bones. Make sure the onions don't burn, though. Then place the meat and onions in the slow cooker, fill it 2/3 with water, add some pepper and a few bay leaves, and a piece of carrot and/or celery if you wish, and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Another option is to double the meatball mix, and use the other half to stuff zucchini or peppers the day after making the soup.

Serves 4 for dinner with bread
Kitchen requirements: oven, slow cooker or one range burner

A. For the meatballs:
1/2 lb. pork
1/2 ground beef (15-20% fat is best)
1 t. white pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. torn bread pieces
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 T. chopped cilantro

B. For the soup:
8 c. beef or lamb shank stock, preferably homemade (see note above)
1/3 c. uncooked basmati rice
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1/2 c. sliced zucchini
1/2 lemon
chopped cilantro for garnish
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a foil-covered cookie sheet. Toast pine nuts until golden brown. Soak bread in milk for 15 minutes, then squeeze out extra milk and discard milk.

Mix pork, beef, pepper, salt together with bread. Use your hands, it's ok. Then add pine nuts and cilantro and mix just until incorporated. Form balls about 1-inch in diameter, and bake on cookie sheet until browned (turning once), about 15 or 20 minutes.

While meatballs are cooking, place beef stock, cardamom pods, and rice in slow cooker on high or on range burner on medium low heat to cook rice. Add salt and white pepper to your taste. You will have to cook the soup for a couple of hours if you use the slow cooker, or about 30 minutes if you use a range burner. When the meatballs are done, add them to the soup with the zucchini, and let them simmer for a while to be fully infused with brothy goodness. Just before serving, squeeze in 1/2 lemon's worth of juice and adjust seasonings. Garnish with chopped cilantro.