Top Chef with Teanna - Season 7, Episode 3 - Sesame Lamb Meatballs and Tabouli Salad

Let me preface this by saying, "I hate tabouli". Or Tabbouleh. How is it spelled?

So I was less than excited to make a dish with a base of steel cut oats and barley. Grossness.

Now, you may be calling me immature at my use of vocabulary up until this point in the post. But you also may know how I feel about soggy carbs like oatmeal.  Basically... puke city.

How's that for vocabulary.

I don't even know if historically, stone ground oats are added, but it is just unnatural in my mind.

Combined with the extreme (and I mean extreme) amounts of lemon, my mouth almost puckered into a permant fishy kissy face.It wasn't pretty.

I wasn't crazy about the tabbouleh (tabouli?), but I must say, when combined as a complete bite with the entire dish, it worked. But only because of the saving grace... the ultimate meatball.

Oh, this meatball was just wonderful.   I know it may be counterintuitive to get excited about a food like the meatball that typically has between 5-7 ingredients (for me at least - garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and a mix of veal, beef and pork)  that then gets amped up to have 16 - count 'em, 16 - ingredients, but wow, do each and every one of these ingredients combine to create the most interesting, amazing, addicting meatball I have ever tasted.  The complex spice from the sambal, the sesame flavor from the seeds, the lime from the cilantro, the nutty flavor of tahini... the list could go on and on. Dipped into a creamy, light and fresh cilantro yogurt, these are the perfect party food.

Sesame Lamb Meatball and Tabouli Salad adapted from Top Chef

4-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

Sesame Lamb Kefta:

12 oz ground lamb

4 oz ground chuck (beef)

1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro stems

2 Tbl roasted garlic oil

2 Tbl sherry vinegar

1 Tbl sambal

2 Tbl Tahini paste

1/8 cup chopped shallots

3 Tbl panko bread crumbs

½ tsp Mexican oregano

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

1 whole egg

4 Tbl black & white sesame seeds

Salt & Sugar, to taste

Lemongrass stalks, for skewers

Barley & Oat Tabouli Salad:

2 cups barley

1 cup steel cut oats

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh dill, chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ cup fresh mint, chopped

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 Tbl olive oil

3 Tbl ground cumin

½ cup diced tomato

½ cup diced cucumber

1/3 cup diced red onion

Zest of 4 lemons

Salt, Pepper, Sugar, to taste

Cilantro Yogurt:

2 cups organic plain yogurt

1 bunch fresh cilantro (with stems)

1/8 cup lemon juice

2 Tbl cumin

1 Tbl coriander

Salt, Pepper, Sugar, to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the Sesame Lamb Kefta:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Distribute all ingredients evenly. Form patties and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs have cooked through.

For the Barley & Oat Tabouli Salad:

Cook barley and oats in generous amount of boiling water to ensure fluffiness. Drain and cool.

Toss with remaining ingredients.

For the Cilantro Yogurt:

Blend all ingredients until bright green.

Comments

[Eliana]

Those meatballs look like they kick butt Teanna!

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Yum! This dish makes me so hungry!

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LOL, I can totally relate to the use of the words grody and such! :) Good to have ya back, Teanna!
~ingrid aka Irene

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Ok, yeah, that is a ton of ingrediants for a simple meatball, but they do sounds yummy. Especially with that sauce, which looks awesome.

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I don't even know if historically, stone ground oats are added, but it is just unnatural in my mind.

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