As a family we ate together — we gathered around the dining room table, and enjoyed each other’s company and the delicious home-cooked meals my mother prepared. I feel fortunate to have carried on this wonderful family tradition.
Happily, the tradition for many to gather together as a family for dinner and other meals has returned no matter the schedules of their daily lives. I’d be hard-pressed to think of a more appetizing recipe to lure family members to the table than my Mediterranean meatballs with tomato sauce and couscous. Most everybody loves meatballs, even kids. This dish has every featureI’m looking for when it comes to a complete and satisfying meal; it’s nutritious, colorful, balanced, and packed with flavors and textures. To pull the bounty of flavors together, the combination gets a dollop of (in this order) Greek-style yogurt, Greek olives and feta cheese.
For this dinner, the tomato sauce and meatballs can be prepared in advance. Cook the meatballs and couscous a few minutes before you plan to sit down for dinner. If you want to add additional color and nutrition serve with a tossed green salad or steamed leafy greens like Swiss chard or kale.
Tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
In a large pot over moderate heat, heat oil and saute garlic until slightly brown, add red pepper flakes and tomatoes, reduce heat, and simmer for about a half hour.
Meatballs
2 eggs
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until lightly beaten. Add breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, oregano and pepper, and combine until well-blended. Add meat and with your hands combine mixture until ingredients are well-combined. Shape mixture into balls using about 1/4 cup for each ball until you have 18 meatballs. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and cook meatballs until brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Couscous
2 cups water
1 vegetable cube
1 tablespoon olive oil
One 10-ounce package couscous
1/4 cupfresh parsley, minced
In a medium pot, bring water, vegetable cube and olive oil to a boil, stir in couscous and parsley, cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork before serving.
Garnish
One 7-ounce package of Greek- strained yogurt
1 cup Greek olives, roughly chopped
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
To assemble dish, spoon couscous onto rimmed plate, top with three meatballs and top with tomato sauce. Serve with garnishes, buffet-style. Serves six.
Nutritional analysis per meal: 723 calories, 41 grams total fat, 14 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat, 158 mgs cholesterol, 1,633 mgs sodium, 55 grams total carbohydrate, 6 grams dietary fiber, 34 grams protein, 8 grams sugar.
What to pour
» Grove Mill Pinot Noir from New Zealand; costs about $29
Catch Kerry Dunnington’s column biweekly in Healthy Life. She can be reached at [email protected].
