Tomatoes Provencal
4 medium tomatoes, tops removed
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Combine bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper and half the oil in a food processor until mixed well.
- Cover tops of tomatoes with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.
- Place close to broiler and broil until bread crumbs brown.
Makes 4 servings
Albondigas
2 pounds lean ground beef
3 eggs, beaten
3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine all of the ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Divide the mixture into 24 firm walnut-sized balls and layer on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake until firm, bubbling and browned, about 15-20 minutes.
- Transfer to paper towel to remove excess grease and serve.
Makes 12 servings
Broccoli au Gratin
3 cups broccoli flowerets
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
3/4 cup Emmenthal or other white cheese, thinly sliced
salt
water
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sauce pan.
- Whisk in flour, then add milk and bring to a boil. Continue whisking until thickened.
- Meanwhile, boil water over medium-high heat in a large pot and cook broccoli uncovered until just fork tender.
- Grease an ovenproof dish and transfer the broccoli to it.
- Top with cheeses and pour white sauce over broccoli and cheese.
- Bake until top has browned, about 15 minutes.
Makes 4 servings
Albondiga Oops
I was looking for a meatball recipe and came across one called Albondigas. Little did I know that this is typically a component of a Spanish soup (or the name of the actual soup itself). In hindsight, they probably weren't the best entree to pair with 2 French side dishes, but they're still quite tasty. Kind of sweet from the ketchup and bell pepper, which didn't appeal to me as much as a typical meatball would, be I still enjoyed them.
For the side dishes I made a batch of bechamel and prepared Broccoli au Gratin, currently tied for the most fattening way of devouring vegetables with deep-fried. Sure is tasty though, I think I could eat an entire plate of brussel sprouts and okra au gratin if it were put in front of me. Very easy to make and very transferable to other recipes, from topping other vegetables or even pasta.
I downsized a recipe for Tomatoes Provencal to make a single tomato, but didn't cut back on the garlic. That definitely gave it a lot more kick than I was expecting, but I actually ate this. Normally I don't like tomatoes that haven't been somehow separated from their natural state (unless very firm and part of a salad) but the garlicky bread crumbs made it edible. I might even go so far as to say I actually enjoyed it, so maybe the garlic wasn't so bad after all. There's also some broiled, fresh bread on the side which I used to scoop up the tomato residue. Delicious.