It’s hard being a new parent and being sleep deprived. I know this a) firsthand as a parent from a long time ago and b) secondhand as a new grandparent lending a helping hand.
This morning on my way out the door I was very pleased to have put on my shoes and coat. Picking up my Longchamp handbag by its handles, I was half way out the door when I realised I was holding on to the handles of the laundry basket. The handbag was next to the laundry basket and I had absentmindedly picked up the latter.
Ceci n’est pas un sac à main, as the painter René Magritte might have said.
Last night we invited some young people over for dinner: Niece Number 2 and Nottingham Cousin’s children. All three are working in London and so I thought we should get together for a simple family meal. Junior 1 and D-i-L joined us, along with the twin grandchildren who are just under three weeks old.
There’s no timing for such a dinner as looking after the babies take priority. This called for some simple dishes: a Tarte Soleil on the table to snack on, dessert of Brioche and Butter Pudding (substituting dark chocolate chips for the raisins) served with home-made Banana Ice Cream. I cannot believe I do not have a recipe for bread and butter pudding on my blog so I used this recipe from NY Times Cooking.
For the main course I adapted the Lemony Chicken-Feta Meatball Soup With Spinach, also from NY Times. What started me on this recipe was an article I read about oats when making my Granola Number 1.
My recipe is below, using chopped chicken thighs and taking the readers’ advice to use orzo pasta instead of oats in the soup and to bake the meatballs. I made a double this recipe, so everyone had a takeaway box for next day’s lunch at work. We also had a large salad and some grilled asparagus.
For the Meatballs:
1 kg minced chicken (make your own – see end of post)
50 g red onion, finely chopped
10 g garlic, finely chopped
200 g feta, crumbled
45 g rolled oats
20 g fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Few twists of ground black pepper
For the Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
50 g red onion, finely chopped
10 g garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, sliced
1.2 litres chicken stock (or water + chicken stock cube)
200 g cherry tomatoes
125 g orzo pasta
25 g sliced preserved lemon peel
250 g baby spinach
2 tablespoons lemon juice
20 g fresh dill, finely chopped
You will also need a large baking tray for baking the meatballs, a large pot in which to cook the soup, a large ladle for serving and shallow pasta bowls for eating the meatballs and soup.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 160 C fan/ 180 C electric.
Place the minced chicken, onion, garlic, feta, oats, dill, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl.
Using your hand (wear a disposable food glove) pummel the meat and spices together until everything is well combined.
Form into large balls of around 50 g each – I used an ice cream scoop.
Place on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Whilst the meatballs are baking, make the soup.
Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and fry until fragrant.
Add the stock, tomatoes and preserved lemon peel. Bring to a simmer, add the orzo and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the meatballs and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Stir in the spinach, lemon juiced dill. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes more.
Adjust the seasoning to taste.
The meatball soup keeps well on the stove over a very low flame/ heat. This means that everyone can help themselves and eat at a time that they are hands-free i.e. when not holding a baby or attending to another matter.
Any leftovers can be successfully reheated the next day.
Making the meatballs from boneless and skinless chicken thighs:
Cut each chicken thigh into 3 – 4 smaller pieces. Freeze for around half an hour as it is easier to mince partly frozen meat. Place the chicken in the bowl of a food processor and blitz for a few seconds until you get a rough paste. You will need to do this in a few rounds as there is too much chicken to process all in one go.
Add the minced chicken to the other meatball ingredients.
Roll into balls of around 50 g each. Bake in the oven before adding to the soup.
