Superbowl Sunday is this weekend. Who’s playin’ again? Oh ya Norlins & da Colts. I have to tell you I couldn’t give a monkeys who wins but I just like the competitiveness of it and of course the mucho beers & grub, which I’ll partake in no doubt. I am a guest of this country so it would be rude not to join in.

With the weekend that’s in it I wanted to give you guys a good easy recipe with a bit of a twist on regular meatballs, which actually doubles as two separate dishes. You can do these ahead especially the meatballs and just let them simmer on the stove. With the sliders you could sear them ahead o’ time and just pop them in the oven for a few minutes when the boys (& girls) come over. Easy!

RECIPE:
Serves 4-6

2 lbs minced lamb
1 cup shallots – fine dice
1/4 cup fresh marjoram & oregano mixed – chopped
1/2 red bell pepper – fine dice
1 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat saute pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil along with diced shallots, red pepper and chili flakes. Stir to coat and turn heat to low. You want to sweat the veggies without getting them brown. Stir occasionally for 5-6 minutes. Once softened remove to a plate to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, as onion mixture is cooling, place the lamb in a large mixing bowl along with cheese, Worcestershire, herbs and S&P. Once veggies are cooled add to lamb. With clean hands get in there and mix thoroughly.

To Test: Preheat same saute you used already to saute the shallots. Drizzle a little olive oil in there and roll 1 meatball. Flatten down to slider size (1/4″ thick). Cook in the pan for a few minutes each side ’til cook through. Taste  and adjust seasoning to your taste if needed………..but I think you’ll be good.

Divide the meat mixture in half. One for meatballs the other for mini sliders.

MEATBALLS:
Roll the meatballs to golf ball size and lay on a foiled tray. Again use the same saute pan as above. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and once all the meatballs are rolled out add to your tomato sauce of choice on the stove. Simmer for 1  hour partially covered. Once ready serve as is or with your favourite pasta and a good ol’ glass of red wine.

Make sure you take a gander at my mini meatball in pita pockets recipe from last year. These look (and taste) fantastic.

SLIDERS:
Roll each slider slightly bigger than the meatballs and flatten slightly to about 1/4 ” thickness. Preheat your grill pan for 1 minute on medium heat. Once ready to cook sear each slider for 3-4 minutes each side for medium rare or longer for more well cooked. Serve with the usual condiments, mustard, homemade ketchup and caramelized onions.

Who’s the real winner?

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Say it with me, “Are you ready for some football?!” Across the pond this takes on a whole other meaning but over here it’s THE biggest sports day. This Sunday even I, as someone who doesn’t even know who’s playing in the Superbowl, will be partaking in the ritual of Super Bowl; Watching, betting, cheering, drinking and eating (healthy food of course!) Don’t believe that you can eat healthy even on Super Bowl Sunday? To prove it, here are some ideas from the last couple of years to help you create a tasty and healthy buffet:

Super Bowl Mo’Rockin’ Meatball Pitas

Lavash Pizza, Homemade Pita Chips & Hummus, Apple Jicama Slaw

Healthy Potato Salad

Turkey & Portobello Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Tandoori Chicken Skewers, Asparagus Skewered Shrimp & Mini Beef Sliders

And that’s not all! This week I’m making a pork & poblano stew, tomato marinated flank steak, lamb sliders & Mediterranean meatballs so be sure to check back for these recipes!

Oh yeah, this is why I like American football!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I got some pictures yesterday of my niece’s first day at big girl school (what a dote!) and then it hit me–summer is almost done, or for those of you across the pond it never really got started. Sorry ’bout that.
Here Stateside we celebrate Labor Day on Monday, meaning it’s a bank holiday weekend and our last official Summer hoo-ha before Autumn starts creeping in. We’ve been suffering a heat wave here this past week, so I made some refreshing ‘burgers’ that are a great idea for your last ’summer’ weekend.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 lb sushi grade Ahi Tuna
2 tbsp low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp wasabi paste
1 lime – zested
squeeze of lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro – chopped
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For Garnish:
sprouts (if you’re into them)
avocado
lettuce

DIRECTIONS:
Chop the tuna into chunks and add to a food processor. Pulse a few times to break down tuna.

In a large mixing bowl add olive oil, tamari, lime juice and zest, cilantro, ginger, S&P. Mix and add to tuna. Blend until well combined, (1 minute approx) mimicking ground meat.
Form into 4 x 4oz burgers.
Preheat large non-stick saute/grill pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Sear burgers for 2 minutes each side for rare or longer for more well done.
Serve with fresh sprouts and avocado on a toasted whole wheat bun. If, like me, you like a condiment with your burger try my ginger spiced homemade ketchup to give a great contrasting sweet n sour flavor.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

On my travels I had a great time exploring and enjoying delicious French food. If you saw Top Chef Master’s last night you got a taste of how serious French chefs are. Their training is like the military; structured, no-nonsense, all about technique, full of pride. A lot of my meals in France contained tarragon, a classic French cooking favorite. No stranger to Irish cuisine, its taste is similar to anise and licorice and is often combined with fresh parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil, otherwise known as fines herbes. Besides it’s unique taste, tarragon has a long history of health benefits, such as treating stomach cramps as a digestive aid while promoting a healthy appetite. Gotta love it when your food does double duty.

I was inspired by the tastes of France to liven up an American staple, the burger. These are made with ground chicken, an excellent low-fat alternative to high-fat mince. Having a barbecue? Try them as sliders. Don’t stop there–continue the Mediterranean journey with a mixed green & fennel salad. Can you tell I’m ready to go back?

BURGER RECIPE:
Serves 4

4 x 4-6 oz burgers (approx 1-1½ lb) ground Organic chicken
¾ cup red onion – small dice
1 large garlic clove – minced
2 tbsp fresh tarragon – chopped
½ lemon – zested
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
low-fat cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In preheated (medium low heat) sauté pan, sauté red onion in 2 tbsp olive oil for 1 minute, stirring. Add minced garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

Once cooled add onions to chicken along with chopped tarragon, lemon zest, mustard and S&P.
With clean hands, mix well. Roll burgers into 4-6 oz sized burgers.

This can be done ahead of time and refrigerated.
Remove burgers from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to let them return to room temp.

Preheat a large griddle and cook each burger for 3-4 minutes each side until cooked through. Of course you can fire up your grill for these as well. Serve with low-fat cheese on top and you’re off to the races.

NOTE:
This is also a great party idea or if you’ve got a group of friends coming over.
Simply sear the burgers for 1 minute each side and then finish in 425F/220C oven for 4 minutes until cooked through. By doing the burgers this way you can feed more people at one time and keep them sweet!

MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH SHAVED FENNEL AND GOAT’S CHEESE RECIPE
Serves 2

2 cups mixed greens
½ fennel bulb– thinly sliced and put in an ice water bath to crisp
1 oz goat’s cheese
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey (I like to use Agave Nectar instead. Still sweet but better metabolized by the body)
S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Drain sliced fennel completely and mix with greens along with the goat’s cheese and lemon zest.
Add olive oil, balsamic, honey / agave and pinch of salt.

Cheers!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

SUBSCRIBE to the NEW Healthy Irishman Newsletter!

I know this recipe might sound like a strange concept. I, too, was skeptical about trying this one out but to my delight it was extremely tasty. I got the idea from EatingWell.com as I was doing some research about pumpkins. Pumpkins are those things we tend to hack up and carve vs. eating (unless we’re talking pie, where the pumpkin found fame).  I haven’t worked a whole lot with pumpkin so I decided to try my hand at trying and creating recipes because if you’re like my house, you’ll have some un-carved pumpkins left over from Halloween.

Though I followed most of the recipe from the website I did make some modifications noted via asterisk below. That’s the beauty about cooking, you can always make a recipe your own.

RECIPE:

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red or green bell pepper * I used red
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn * I used frozen
2 cloves garlic, minced * I used one
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
Fresh Tomato Salsa (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree * I used FRESH pumpkin puree (see recipe on previous post) and I also added 1/4 cup extra at the end to moisten up the mixture
1/2 cup shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese * I didn’t use any cheese (it was great without it)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ * I used raw as that’s the only kind I had in the kitchen
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs * I used the Italian breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
8-inch flour tortillas * I used whole wheat
shredded lettuce
* I also added some canned black beans, drained – maybe a 1/4 cup and some minced jalapeno for kick

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Read the rest of this entry »