Fancy Friday Feasts

My wife bemoans the fact that in attempting to use up a single odd ingredient, I will go out and purchase (in her words, a bit of hyperbole I think) "7,000 additional ingredients, which then will go through the same process of having to be used up! Why can't I just buy an instant falafel package and be done with it?!?!?"  I'm not clear where this upwelling of food frustration stems from - I love instant falafel too - but I really can't help myself about having to use every single item in the kitchen. In my defense, I'm not as bad as the guy who uses his leftover coffee grinds in the bread he bakes.

Anyways, Pinterest led me to a recipe for chickpea albondigas (spanish meatballs) that I was quite excited to make since we have lots of homemade tomato sauce to be used up. I paired this recipe with my version of Spanish brown rice, lemon-seasoned organic kale, and almond tarts for dessert (recipe for this to come later). It was all FANTASTIC especially the Spanish brown rice! The only complaint I could make is that the chickpea albondigas were a little dry since I was using cooked from scratch chickpeas that were cooked just until tender rather than mushy, and I stored them separately from the stock once cooked. If you're not making the rice, I would recommend increasing the sauce quantity by half again, or doubling.

Chickpea Albondigas  makes about 30-32 albondigas

• ~3 1/2 c. chickpeas (cooked or tinned - if tinned, needs 2 15 oz cans)
• 6-8 tbs olive oil (I used lemon infused olive oil)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lemon, zest  plus some juice
• 2/3 c fine wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

for the sauce

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, mined
• 300g (10½ oz) ripe tomatoes, diced (I used canned tomatoes)
• ½ c dry white wine (or white cooking wine)
• 1 c vegetable stock
• 2-3 Tbs tomato paste
• 2-3 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 - 3/4 c fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Puree the chickpeas, 3-4 Tbs olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, and spices in a food processor until soft, with some small chunks remaining.
2. Combine the puree with breadcrumbs and egg in a bowl, stirring until the mixture starts to come together. Add more olive oil and lemon juice as needed so that mixture can be shaped into balls. 
3. Roll mixture into ~1 - 1.5 inch diameter balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray.
4. Brush outsides lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the albondigas feel a bit firm to the touch. (eat one to test!)
5. While the albondigas are baking, make the tomato sauce. Start by sauteing the onion in olive oil in a frying pan (with deep sides) for 2- 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook another minute.
6. Add the wine, let simmer for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, cayenne, tomato paste and stock. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes.
7. Right before ready to serve, toss the parsley through the sauce and let warm. Serve albondigas on top of or alongside rice and top with sauce.

Spanish Brown Rice

• 1 Tbs olive oil1 c. chopped onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. brown rice (I used basmati brown rice)
• 2 c. chickpea stock (made from cooking 1 c. dried chickpeas from scratch using 1 Tbs dried onion flakes, 2-3 cloves garlic, and salt) - or use veggie broth
• 1 c. tomato sauce (I used homemade canned tomato sauce)
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil briefly - 2-3minutes, and then add in the rice. Saute for about 5 minutes until the rice is lightly toasted.
2. Add in the stock, tomato sauce and salt. Bring to a boil while uncovered, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for ~ 45minutes until rice is tender.