That guacamole would be perfect if you added the juice of two limes and cilantro. The lime keeps the avacodo from oxidizing (turnging brown) as well as adding fabulous flavor. Cilantro is imperative, if you ask me, for an authentic flavor. I also like to add diced onion, preferably red or yellow, but white is good. This, however, is not necessary. Then again, some people like plainer guacamole, its really the individual's call.
I came up with this recipe while making the Pesach (Passover) dinner yesterday. I found that making them chumatz (bread, pasta, oat, etc. products) free made it even better, I will explain further on. I think its what the Pope would eat on Pesach.
Passover Meatballs
This will serve many, many people. For me, it served app. 20 people as a small side (app. 2-4 balls per person). As a main course served over potato noodles or rice (to keep with the Pesach theme) or pasta, it could serve maybe 5-10, I haven't actually tried that yet. These can be made well in advance on the day of and kept on the back burner, no heat, with a top (with a small hole for ventilation, my pot has one) on. Heat for 1/2-1 hour before serving, adding fresh basil to sauce with meat balls ten minutes prior to serving.
Sauce
Ingredients
I know this will seem like a lot, but I can almost guarantee you that you have most of these in your pantry
1 1/2 Onion diced
1 pkg Crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms, cleaned* and sliced
1/2-1 head Garlic, smashed and minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably Greek or Turkish, Italian is also good)
Almond Oil
Saigon Cinamon (any good cinamon will do)
Cayenne Chili Powder
Kosher Salt (Sea Salt is also acceptable, but please don't use table salt)
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 lg cans Whole Tomatoes, crushed by hand (much better texture and quality than canned crushed)
1/4-2/3 cup Fresh Basil, chiffonade or torn
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil (optional)
Dried Thyme
Dry Red Wine (Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Mt. Hermon**)
White Table Wine
Plenty of Bottled or Filtered Water on hand
* Do not rinse, please, mushrooms absorb a good amount of water simply by rinsing, to clean wipe with damp, not wet, paper towls
** An Israeli wine, a blen of Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a little Cabernet Franc
Directions
1. In an obscenely large pan or a pot sautee (not sweat, high heat is desired) onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a good amount of extra virgin olive oil and almond oil, for a nutty flavor along with a good pinch of salt, a good amount of fressh ground black pepper, a couple dashes of cinammon, and a couple dashes of cayenne chili powder until greatly reduced in volume and golden brown.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, dried basil, oregano, thyme, and wine. At this point bring the sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer. At this point in time being preparing the meatballs, water and fresh basil will be handled in the meatball portion.
3. 10-30 minutes before serving adjust for taste. Oregano, dried thyme, and dried basil should be your first choices. If it is too deep in flavor add more white wine. If it is too light (although I don't see this happening) add more red wine or even beef stock if you have it on hand.
Meatballs
Ingredients
The ingredients for the meatballs are what really make this different from what I have made before during the rest of the year. In order to make this kosher for Pesach, I had to change out the bread crumbs for matzo meal. This produces a mixture with a much denser (in a good sense, mind you) consistency, and requires much less work and other additives to bind the mixture. The end result is a spectacular texture and wonderful flavor.
2 1/2- 2 2/3 lbs Ground Beef*
1/3 cup Matzo Meal
1 Egg
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Kosher of Sea Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably Italian here, although French or even Greek would also be good)
Almond Oil
Walnut Oil
Grapseed Oil (optional)
*Don't go and buy lean sirloin or something, you need the fat of what is labeled as just plain ground beef, it also often has even better cuts than you would ever buy since it is made from all of the trimmings of the day, so you could well be having a mix including filet mignon among other cuts.
Directions
1. Mix meat, matzo meal, egg, herbs, pepper, and salt together with your hands, be careful to thouroughly combine all the ingredients (especially the matzo meal which has a tendency to stick to one spot) while not over working the meat, so don't pick up a handful and just squish it through your fingers, it's bad for hte meat.
2. In your favorite non-stick pan heat to a just begining to smoke temperature a pretty lare amount of the extra virgin olive oil, almond oil, and walnut oil. If as you go you seem to need more, add the grapeseed oil or more extra virgin olive oil if you opted not to use the grapseed oil.
3. Form the meat into balls a bit smaller than golf balls, if you have ever made matzo ball soup (not only eaten, if you have only eaten matzo ball soup, do not read the fallowing instruction on size, ti will only hurt you) make them slightly smaller than you would a matzo ball.
4. As you make the meatballs, it is good to do this with another person one making the balls and one cooking, set the balls in the hot oil. Sear the balls on all sides making sure to get a nice crust on each side then move the balls into the simmering sauce. As the sauce becomes crowded (believe me, it will) begin adding the water from the sauce ingredients list gradually, about 1/2-2/3 of a bottle at a time to thin it up, as you get more comfortable you can add more at atime.
5. Simmer for app. another half hour. Add the fresh basil from the sauce ingredients list and simmer for another 5-10 minutes before serving. Adjust for taste, oregano, dried thyme, and dried basil should be your first choices. If it is too deep in flavor add more white wine. If it is too light (although I don't see this happening) add more red wine or even beef stock if you have it on hand.
Enjoy, and L'Chaim!
I probably didn't hear about holy cows until I read Tintin in Tibet, or something like that.
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