Rambling
Confession: A lot of my cooking is mistake-based. In the case of this food flub, it was because of stale bread. I was trying to make this simple recipe, Meatballs with Cucumber Sauce on Flatbreads, from the August 2012 issue of Better Homes & Gardens. But when it came time to serve, my flatbreads, well, fell flat. Crumbled, more like. I had purchased this lovely looking garlic naan…
…but fear it must have gone stale. Or perhaps I was too impatient in neglecting to warm it. Because when I tried to gently fold it to make a sandwich pocket–gyro-like–for the meatballs and yogurt sauce, it broke apart…
It was pretty futile to think the rest of the recipe could be salvaged, so I forged ahead with the fumble, and made my own version of this dish. It ended up being sort of like panzanella. With a Persian flare. Persian panzanella. Which I guess can also be considered fattoush. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Fattoush…ish.
Roast
Fattoush with Meatballs
Adapted from a recipe published online and in August 2012 Better Homes & Gardens
Break apart two large pieces of garlic naan or similar bread (such as pita), and toast in oven until lightly browned, about 3 minutes on broil…
In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 of a thinly sliced cucumber, 1/2 of a diced and seeded tomato, 12-16 oz. fully cooked meatballs, halved (available in the meat section…I used veal, but in future might make my own ahead of time using ground lamb and Greek seasoning), and 1/2 of a thinly sliced red onion…
For cucumber dressing: Coarsely grate the other 1/2 of the cucumber, and combine with 5-6 oz. plain Greek yogurt, snipped fresh mint, and Greek seasoning, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste. A pinch of cumin and squeeze or zest of lemon work nicely, too…
Pour yogurt dressing over the other ingredients (including the toasted naan pieces), tossing lightly to coat all evenly…
Garnish with mint. And then be sure to actually eat the mint…This salad is yummy, but pungent onions pack a punch!
ramblings & roasts 