Big balls of aromatic fresh herbs, rice, beef and lamb. It’s a whole meal by itself. Adding dairy to meatballs make them tender.

The Advieh is a Persian spice mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, cloves and rose petals.

Meatballs:
½ cup long grain rice
½ cup yellow split pea, soaked 1 hour
2 cups water + ½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ lb ground lamb
½ lb ground beef
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon yogurt
1 small red onion, grated, and squeezed to remove liquid
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup dill, chopped
1 cup chives, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
½ Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon Advieh (Persian spice mix: cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, rose petals)
Some oil for the baking tray
Sauce:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped)
1 Tablespoon sumac
½ teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup beef or chicken broth
Thickener:
1 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch saffron threads
½ cup blanched almonds

½ cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced

Preparing the meatballs
1.    Bring the rice and split peas together in 2 cups of salted water to boil.  Once it has boiled, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
2.    Combine the remaining meatball ingredients (lamb, beef, egg white, yogurt, red onion, garlic, chopped herbs, Advieh, salt and pepper and the cooled rice and split pea mix) together until combined.   Using your hands, form into balls about 1 ½ inch diameter.  Place on a lightly oiled baking tray, and bake in a 400°F oven until brown about 12 minutes.
Preparing the sauce
3.    In a heavy bottom, oven proof pot, heat olive oil on medium high.  Add sliced onions and cook till golden brown, about 7 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients (tomatoes, garlic, sumac, tumeric, saffron, salt and pepper).  Pour in the broth.  Bring to boil.  Taste and add salt if needed.
4.    Transfer the meatballs back into the pot, add more broth if necessary to cover the meatballs, and bake covered, in a 400 °F oven (alternatively simmer on low on stove top) for 10 minutes. stirring once or twice gently.
5.    In the meantime, put the parsley, garlic, salt, saffron, and almonds in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until well chopped. Add mixture to meatball pot after 10 minutes, stir gently, and return to the oven and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.
6.    Mix the yogurt with the garlic, drizzle over the meatballs and serve.

Serves: 6

Tags: Herbs, meatballs, Persian, Rice.

This is a very tasty Vietnamese appetizer and part of the famous “bo 7 mon” Vietnamese menu of eating 7 different types of beef dishes. Beef 7 ways. No holy cow here. The skewers of little green parcels of beef make a lovely presentation.

La lot is a type of Asian herb – a large shiny heart-shaped leaf which gives a peppery, pungent and aromatic taste. Also called wild betelnut leaves or daun kadok in Southeast Asia, it is a vine and is related to the pepper family. La lot looks somewhat similar to betelnut, a member of the palm family, which is used like chewing tobacco in some parts of Asia. La lot lacks the narcotic content that betelnut gives. Even without the addictive content, the bo la lot is pretty addictive by itself!

Chef’s tip: Use double skewers when skewing the meatballs. That way, you won’t have it pivoting around the skewer.

Ingredients:

Nuoc Mam Cham Sauce:
1 red Thai chile, finely minced or 1 teaspoon sambal olek
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons sugar
1 lime, juiced to make ¼ cup
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
½ cup water

24 La-Lot leaves (sub: perilla, shiso, grape leaves), blanched

Mirepoix:
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 large shallots, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons lemon grass, finely minced
3 La-lot leaves, chiffonade

Meatballs:
12 oz ground beef (15-20% fat)
2 Tablespoon fish sauce,
1  teaspoon Asian five spice powder
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
1 teaspoon palm sugar (sub: brown sugar)

8 bamboo sticks, pre-soaked
Some canola oil for brushing

Preparing the sauce:
1.    Mix all dipping sauce ingredients together (chile, garlic, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar and water).  Set aside.
Preparing the leaves:
2.    Remove the hard stem from the leaves.
3.    Bring a small pot of salted water to boil.  Drop in 24 leaves, wait 5 seconds and immediately remove and plunge into a bowl of iced water.  Drain and pat dry.  Leave whole.
Preparing the meatballs:
4.    In a small sauté pan, heat the canola oil.  Add the chopped shallots and fry till translucent, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in minced garlic, chopped lemongrass and chiffonaded la-lot leaves. Let cool.
5.    In a medium bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients (beef, fish sauce, five spice powder, sugar, and pepper.) Add the cooled mirepoix.  Mix together to combine.
6.    Lay out a piece of leave, shiny side (top) up.  Take about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture and form into a small log.  Place the log on stem end of the leave.  Fold in the sides and slowly roll tightly to enclose the log.   Set on a baking tray. You should have about 24 rolls.
7.    Using 2 skewers in parallel, about ½ inch a part, skewer 3 logs per skewer.  Brush the logs with oil.
8.    Place the skewers on a grill rack, and cook about 3 minutes per side, till the leaves are slightly charred.
9.    Serve with the nuoc mam cham dipping sauce.

Serves: 4

Tags: finger foods, grilled, skewers, street foods, Vietnamese.