Bosnian Meat Bureks

 

 

While away from home, what Canadian food do my kids miss the most in France?! Not a burger, nor an apple pie, but the bureks that we used to buy at the local market in Canada. They had mentioned it so many times over the past weeks that my heart couldn't take the kids' culinary suffering no longer and I started the quest for a pseudo-burek.

Burek is a Mediterranean pie with various fillings, from meat to apples, made by a variety of ethnicities in Europe and Asia: Turks, Greeks, Croats, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Czech, etc. The commonality among all recipes is phyllo dough and the rest of the ingredients, as well as the shape, vary from region to region.

I call this particular recipe Bosnian because I tried to approximate the bureks that we buy at the local market in Canada, whose owner is (or at least I heard is) from Bosnia.

From the start I knew it would never make the dough the way it is supposed to be made - beautifully thin, flexible, moist, and live. I just don't have the skills for it. I went to the box French supermarket, Carrefour, bought a pack of phyllo dough. Unfortunately, the pre-made phyllo dough is not as flexible as home-made and I couldn't make those perfectly round pies.

Next time I'll try making Turkish cigar-shaped bureks by laying out the bureks in straight lines vs. trying to roll them.

What I created is not the original recipe by any means, mostly in the difference of the dough. Nevertheless, these bureks turned out to be really good. The phyllo dough added crunch to the top dough layer and the filling was savoury, tender and moist. Although the original bureks are great, these turned out different, but quite delicious.

Servings: 10 bureks, 10cm in diamer
Time: 1 hour

• 1 pack phyllo dough, 10-12 sheets
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 med. potato, grated
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon all-spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a large baking sheet. 
2. In a large bowl mix ground beef, garlic, onions, grated potato, egg, and spices.
3. Choose a large working surface, at least the size of a phyllo sheet - this can be a counter top or a large cutting board. Make sure it is not granite or wood: oil will ruin both.
4. Grease the surface with oil and lay out the first phyllo sheet. Cover the rest of the dough with a towel to prevent drying out. Grease the sheet with more oil.
5. Spread some filling length-wise. It should not be too much, just a bit of meat for each inch.
6. Starting with the side closest to you, start wrapping the sheet in a loose tube. Once done, form a snail-shaped circle. Alternatively, lay them out in straight lines next to each other.
7. Put the baking sheet with bureks in the oven for 30 minutes. Once done, let them cool for 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

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Super-Easy Kid-Friendly Chili (Slow-Cooked)

No matter how much I'd want my kids to appreciate a wider range of food tastes, they tend to cling to the traditional North American food palette. They may select an unusual dish when we go out, but at home, they prefer less exotic choices. It makes my time in the kitchen both less and more challenging: I'd love to offer them something more creative  but making simpler foods is well... just simpler. I keep slipping unusual options once in a while, hoping that one day, when they get older, their childhood cuisine will find a way and at least one of them them will pick fois-gras over nachos.

In the mean time, one of their all-season favourites is chili. It is hardly spicy and hardly hot with just enough of the chili and cumin powder aroma. The slow-cooker completes the simplification process and voila, you have something that's simple, quick (prep time) and kid approved.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 800g can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 each green and yellow / red bell pepper, diced
• 500 ml / 19 oz red / pinto or kidney beans.
  I really like a 6-bean mix that you can get at Loblaws or NoFrills 

• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

1. Heat a skillet on med.-high heat and brown the beef, breaking up clumps, until no longer pink. Put in a slow cooker.
2. In the empty skillet saute onions until transparent with a bit of oil. Add minced garlic, saute for 1 minute, add the spices. Fry to 30seconds, enough for the spices to release the aroma. Put in a slow cooker.
3. Add diced tomatoes, rinsed beans and peppers in the slow cooker. Mix the ingredients well.
4. My slow cooker retains all original liquid, so I don't add extra broth. If your slow cooker is the opposite, add broth. 
5. Cook for 5 hours on high or 9 hours on low.

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Ground Beef Cutlets Vienna-style

These cutlets are delicious: light and fluffy!

• 800g ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 200g mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons starch
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, pepper to taste

1. Beat the eggs lightly, add salt, pepper, mayo and starch. Add to the ground beef and mix it. Put in fridge for 5 hours.
2. Form meat balls, 2 inches in diameter. To make a cutlet, press the ball with your fingers on one side.
3. Fry in a pan with some oil till golden-brown, turn over. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes till ready.

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Sightseeing in Adelaide (with kids), part 2

GREEN SPACES

1. Adelaide Zoo - located in the centre of city, on the edge of the university campus has around 1400 exotic and native mammals, birds and reptiles. The highlight of the zoo is a newly-acquired couple of pandas. They have definitely become the zoo's mascots.

A surrikat

A thoughtful wallaby

2. Botanic Gardens -  is a 125-acre (51 ha) public green space established in 1854. It is easy to forget about the hassle of city in this quiet setting of native and exotic plants, pavilions, and exhibits.

MISC

National Wine Centre of Australia built in 2000 as a joint State and Federal Government venture, the building is being leased to the University of Adelaide for 40 years. Here you can enjoy wine and winemaking from the ground up.  The interactive Wine Discovery self-guided tour and exhibition showcase the complete wine experience. The cafe offers a wine tasting menu with options to appease a connoisseur. The attractive and unusual building is also a home for many events functions, as well as wine appreciation classes, wine training, and weekly 'wine-down hours'. 

The shop at the Wine Institute

Wine Cellar

 
Rundle Mall is probably, it is one of the most-recognized streets in Adelaide, it is a 500m pedestrian area that concentrates more than 500 retails stores, boutiques, and arcades. A walk down the street is a treat for kids - with ice-cream or smoothie in hand, they enjoy the bronze sculptured pigs, the fountain, the Mall Balls, and the performers.

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Sightseeing in Adelaide (with kids), part 1

Adelaide is a great city to visit with kids - aside from spotless beaches there is just the right combination of kid-focused venues and events reachable by public transportation, both indoor and outdoor: museums, galleries, walks, green spaces and parks. An endless row of festivals, celebrations, and parades gives you a feeling of an eternal holiday!

MUSEUMS

The museum staff member
helps with the microscope

1. South Austalian Museum - a free 4-floor natural history museum on North Terrace has combined rich and concentrated exhibits on huge range of subjects including Australia's history, Aborriginal cultures, animal world, minerals, Arctic expeditions, etc. The hands-on expoloration room and a full-size giant squid were the Nomads' favorite.

2. Migration Museum tells stories of migrants who came to Adelaide from all over the world, from the first English ship in 1836 to the most recent immigrants from Afganistan. Interactive displays, computer screens, personal stories, and hands-on storyboards have made poignant stories of migration interesting and approachable to kids.

The Immigrants sculpture in the courtyard of the Migrants Museum

King Henry VIII by Holbein
is in the museum's
permanent collection

3. Art Gallery of South Australia houses a good collection of art that includes works of Rodin, Van Dyck, Brueghel and Bosch.

We caught two interesting temporary exhibits - The Desert Country, an internationally acclaimed Australian desert painting movement and The Feast of Trimalchio, an avant-garde  large-scale digital video installation of Petronius’s epic poem from the Satyricon for a twenty-first century audience filled with erotic and gastonomic fantasies, created by 6 Russian artists.

A snapshot of The Feast of Trimalchio

The museum draws immense crowds of kids every first Sun of the month for Arts' Kids at the Gallery when it  introduces children to arts, music, and the museum's collection through themed events.

Arts' Kids at the Museum

4. Tandanya Indigenous Cultural Institute presents history and culture of Aboriginal (Kaurna) people of South Australia. A free demonstration of didgeridoo, an aboriginal instrument, was the most interesting part for the kids.

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Au revoir, La France!

Bidding farewell to France took several rounds and made the leave longer, hectic, and in a way, sadder than I would have liked it to be. There were kids' farewell lunches at school, lunches with the new friends from the French class, packing for the next trip, catching up on the last sights, events, and restaurants! Alas, swift English goodbyes (which I would so much like in this case) are not for moms with kids!

The Little Nomads' teachers had hinted that it'd be nice to have a class farewell with some treats for the kids.
- Oui, avec plaisir!
What do French kids consider a treat if they have pain au chocolat for breakfast? I didn't want to leave the class with the lasting memories of North American-type sponge cake, nor was baking an option. Finally, it was decided on tarte aux fruits which was a smashing hit! Both classes had prepared beautiful albums with keepsakes of the months the boys spent at school.

By the end of November the temperature in Lille was slightly above 0C, just cool enough to remind you of the looming winter. Christmas music was floating at the Place du General-de-Gaulle around a tall decorated Chrismas tree. Marche de Noel was in full swing and the smell of roasted chestnuts, cooking specialties, and spiced wines filled the air.  With these Christmas-filled memories of Lille, the Little Nomads and I left for Russia on December 1st.

The remnants of my lunch at Aux Moules -
a quirky Flemish restaurant

Vin chaud -
hot spiced wine is
a winter-time specialty in Flandres

The Very Little Nomad's farewell lunch

The Little Nomad's belle francaise

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Toulouse Impressions: things to do with kids

The city offers many places of interest for the kids. The places below will most certainly dilute the historical and religious emphasis of the city's sights:

Musee d'Historie Naturelle

This museum is certainly not as overwhelming as the one in Brussels but the Nomads still spent good 3 hours roaming the exhibits, touching, asking questions, trying. 

I found the 5 themes of the exhibitions incredibly well-presented, especially for the kids from 6+:

-Earth power (minerals, solar system, volcanic activity, earth history, fossils): you can feel the earth move at the time of an earthquake and watch a movie on continents shifts.

-Botanical and bio hierarchy. This was a bit scholarly for my Nomads, but a great exhibit to give the kids the basics of the structure.

-Continuity of Life. In simpler terms, your dinosaur exhibit, which takes you beyond a mere T-rex. 

-Functions of Living Beings.

-The future: focus on environmental impact and human relationship with nature

The museum provided no information in English beside the museum plan. So I thanked my school teachers for being to recall the basics of the school program...

After visiting the human impact on environment exhibit, the Little Nomad says:
Ok, I understand that I have only one choice - to die right now rather than see what will happen to the planet. 

We also caught a new exhibit Prehistory, the Investigation. Having discovered two skeletons, the team launches a forensic search for their origins, environment, way of life, etc.

The museum also has a botanical garden, which the Nomads absolutely refused to visit. 

Jardin Royal, Grand Rond, Jardine des Plantes

3 parks connected with each other occupy about 10 hectares of land. All three combined are a great way to spend a leisurely day with the kids: the Botanical Gardens, especially (not to be confused with the museum's gardens). There's a maze of trees studded with waterfalls, staircases, ponds, too many things to explore with an inquisitive child! A few cafes and a playground make it easy to spend hours here!

Musee St-Raymond

This museum presents the history of Toulouse through a easy-to-digest collection Gallo-Roman relics excavated on sites in Toulouse and Chiragan from the Bronze age to the year 1000. The basement of the museum houses remains of the necropolis of Saint-Sernin. It's not a hands-on museum but a great starting point for showing to the kids how the city evolved.

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On the well-behaved French children

NOT a typical French kid

I've heard a saying that French kids are seen but not heard. I testify fully by this statement! The metro, museums, restaurants, supermarkets, malls and boutiques are full of kids but you don't realize this until you make a conscious effort to seek them out. Only then the French kids start transpiring - in strollers, shopping carts, metro seats, but you will never hear them! Maybe a casual tiny baby would catch your attention by an accidental whimper coming from a zoom-zoom stroller, but that's the pinnacle of French kids' misbehavior. Haven't heard a single tantrum over chocolate, a scream at a sibling, a fight at a bus stop, or anything of a kind! Actually, I think I haven't heard a sound coming from a single French kid!

We had lunch at a super-busy Italian pizzeria today. You wouldn't realize it was full of kids until you put on your special "I Spy Kids"-glasses. Every single table was occupied by a couple or a parent with at least two kids ages 1-13. And the only sound you could hear was the wine pouring and the "Il Divo" music coming from the restaurant's speakers. The kids didn't occupy themselves by drawing on restaurant-offered paper using restaurant-offered crayons, nor did the play Nintendo DS or iPhone games, they just were there, quiet and well-behaved.

Last week at the market a 50-something man came up to us and said - "I've seen you in the city before. I mean I've heard your kids". Of course, he did! I think most of Lille has first heard and then seen my rowdy Little Nomads: a finger-pointing, loud-talking, fast-running, hand-grabbing, comment-making, incessantly-talking, song-singing, each-other-pushing-and-shoving couple. How can you possibly not notice them - they are certainly not the French type! Nor they are Canadian or North American. They are just the Little Nomads, what else?!

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How to raise a gourmand

1. Start with sending your kid to school in France, which participates in a municipally-run lunch program.

Lunch is serious business, which takes two hours (including a round-trip to the canteen). At lunch children are not coerced to eat everything on their plates but rather encouraged to always try everything that was served. Meal consists of at least 4 dishes - a starter salad, main dish + side dish, cheese and dessert. In the 6 weeks the Little Nomads attend school, none of the menu items were repeated (except fries, which I've seen a couple of times).

2. In a few weeks the child will start using napkins, use silverware, and ask you which sauce you'd serve with meat tonight (:0). Viola!

Here is an excerpt from the last and this weeks' menu at the Little Nomads' school (last week / this week):


Monday

• starters - x / tabbouleh
• main dish - cordon bleu in tomato sauce / turkey saute in curry sauce
• side dish - macaroni / green beans
• cheese - garlic cheese with fine herbs / Camembert
• desert - season fruit / season fruit

Tuesday

• starters - cucumber vinaigrette / x
• main dish - pork saute with mushrooms / ham cooked in a towel served with ketchup
• side dish - white beans in juice / fries
• cheese -  yogurt whipped with fruit / St-Paulin
• desert - season fruit

Wednesday

• starters - grated carrots / celery remoulade (a salad with mayo-based dressing)
• main dish - omelette / ground beef steak with sweet pepper sauce 
• sidedish - vegetable piperade (a Basque dish prepared with onion, green peppers, and tomatoes) and potatoes / torti (sauteed veggies with zucchini being the main ingredient)
• cheese - mimolette / yogurt
• desert - apricot tart / x

Thursday - Farmers' day

• starters - x / carrots and cauliflower florets served with chive and cream dip
  
• main dish - veal roast in herbs / beef in Miroton-style sauce (mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic)
• side dish - vegetable cordiale (another veggie saute) / pumpkin puree
• cheese - gouda / x
• desert - season fruit / creamed fruit with caramel and almond sauce

Friday (fish day)

• starters - tomatoes and basil / green salad
• main dish - fish fillet in Provencal sauce /  pollack fillet in sauce Aurore
• side dish - rice Creole-style / carrots in butter and fries
• cheese - petits-suisses / x
• desert - x / chocolate flan

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Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

Another Wednesday... I took the Little Nomads to the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle with a collection, which is "unique in France and includes over 250,000 objects". The collection has certainly outgrown its building - there is an impressive insectarium with species from all over the world, fossilized remnants of prehistoric life, reconstructed dinosaurs, and recreated prehistoric tropical forests.

The museum must have been heaven for a team of taxidermists as both floors are packed with thousands of stuffed species.

The building is located in one of the most picturesque areas of the city with a park, which elicited much more the enthusiasm in the Little Nomads, than the museum itself. They joined a horde of French kids who were tediously working on  knocking nuts off the park's many chestnut trees. We left the park with the Very Little Nomad's pockets stuffed with chestnuts.

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Lille Zoo

Wednesdays are off-school days in France, at least for Ecole Maternelle (JK and SK) and Ecole Primarie (Grade 1-3). This Wed the Little Nomads and I ventured into a Lille zoo and a local fair, full of rides, balloons, attractions, and tons of people.

The zoo is a part of Parc de la Citadel (free entrance) around the perimeter of a historic building of Citadel. The park also includes the Fair and two playgrounds.

The zoo admission is free of charge - the fact to I had some difficulty getting accustomed. Despite the fact it's free, the zoo was quite amazing, featuring many rare and interesting animals, from a rhino to lemurs. It is not very big, but just enough to have a good warm-up before we entered the Fair.

The Fair prices were also a pleasant surprise - all of the kids' rides were 1 euro, various attractions from 2-3 euros, and I haven't seen a single one, which was over 3 euros. We left the Fair after 2 hours and I realized that I spent less that 10 euros for 2 kids for 4 attractions and rides each!

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Paris: Things to Do with Kids

“When good Americans die they go to Paris.”

Oscar Wilde

Since we are Canadians - we are good by definition, hence, we don't need to wait till we die to go to Paris! 

By the Louvre

Traveling without kids tends to leave a touch of hazy sentimental after-taste to any place you visit. I had a certain image of Paris based on my previous trips, not overly romantic, but very pleasant nevertheless. I wondered if this picture of Paris would be completely ruined by the time we get back.  

The trip turned out to be fantastic - quite different from all the other visits, but in a good way: we got to visit places we'd otherwise skip, walked around more rather than stand in line to get into 'hard-to-get-into' places and exhibits, went to restaurants that are laid-back rather than formal. 

Here's are some highlights of the trip:

1. The Louvre  

The line up was very modest and we were inside in less than 10 minutes! We were lucky to have had an hour in the galleries after showing the Little Nomads the famous Mona Lisa, as they were losing their minds amidst thousands of paintings! 

The Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Etruscan, the Napoleon III apartments, the Medieval Louvre exhibits were a big hit! 

2. Playgrounds and Parks

We took long and nice breaks from walking and sight-seeing in Paris' many parks, amusement squares, and playgrounds. The Luxembourg Gardens has an amazing closed-off playground for C2,50 per child! A wonderful fountain with toy boats, puppet theatre performances gave our little guys a chance to recharge their batteries. Other parks we visited: Tulieri, Champ-es-Elysee, St Eustace.

By St Eustace

3. Churches

St Eustace

The solemnity of churches became a welcome change from the museums so much so that by the end of the 1st day, the Little Nomads were screaming "Let's go visit the church!" It's hard not too, as Paris has one too many! A few we visited: 

-Notre Dame Cathedral

-St. Eustace

-St. Germain-des-Pres

-St-Sulpice

-Sainte-Chapelle

Because of the European Heritage weekends all buildings normally closed to public were open. We even caught an organ demonstration and a fringe theatre acrobatics rehearsal at St. Sulpice.

4. The archaeological Crypt of the Parvis de Notre-Dame
A splendidly recreated settlement of the Parisii, the Celtic tribe that first settled on the site of Paris 2000 years ago, from which the city takes its name. The Little Nomads had fun running around the gloomy crypt with dark paths, pressing buttons that illuminate certain parts of the excavation (I'm not sure the staff were equally excited though!)

5. Centre Pompidou and the neigborhood

The colorful centre, the Stravinsky fountain, and the square filled with street performers was a great entertainment to the kids.

Chasing giant bubbles at Centre Pompidou

6. The Eiffel Tower

The shadow of the Eiffel tower

The tickets purchased online saved us what looked like hours of waiting in line. We got through the reserved line and were at the top in less than 15 minutes!

7. Hop on - hop off boat tour 

Not only does a boat tour give you a different perspective of the city, but it also lets you avoid the hordes of tourists on Paris streets. The number of times you can get on the bus is not limited so essentially, we used it to get from one place to another and also, gave the Little Nomads a break from walking. 

8. Fountains and Monuments


9. Dining

  

Having started to look around for a place to eat on Sunday evening, we realized that the only restaurants open were Asian. This did not entice us too much and we kept walking till we hit to a little pocket on Montmarte with a row of restaurants, which housed a French crowd. We found one that looked more democratic and settled for what turned out to be a very nice dinner at Le Tambour, which specializes in no-nonsense "urban rustic" cuisine.

The Impression of the Day. Who said the Parisians were rude?
A very lovely friendly bunch! Hope not in the National Lampoon's way:

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A Glimpse of Lille, France

A Book Market in the Stock Exchange building

Canon balls stuck in the facade

after an Austrian siege

of the late 1700-ies

Lille's own Belfry tower

The Impression of the Day. French take their sauce seriously!
How many sauces can you find in a local supermarket on a given day in North America? I wouldn't dare to count for the fear of spending hours there. In France, one of the biggest supermarkets sports, at best, one shelf with 8-10 miniature bottles of sauces. The Little Nomads' lunch menu describes in detail what sauce will be served with the main dish and I haven't seen a single one being repeated in 3 weeks they've attended school (and only 3 sauce sound familiar). I guess I should start reconsidering my approach to cooking, while we are in France at least...

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From-Scratch Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

• 1 kg / 2 lb beef, cut into 1x5cm strips
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 500g / 1lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cups tomato paste
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbs paprika
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tbs mustard
• 3/4 cups sour cream
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste 

1. Add all of the ingrients in a slow cooker, except mushroom and sour cream.
2. Cook for 9-10 hours on auto.
3. Add mushrooms 1 hour before serving.
4. Fold in sour cream 15 minutes before serving or right before serving but make sure it warms through. 
5. Serve with egg noodles or a side dish of your choice.

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Meatballs with Vegetables

What a great way to sneak in some vegetables into your kids' meatballs! They come out moist and tender. Use a food processor for easier preparation and even texture. You can double up the recipe for a meatloaf; bake in a meatloaf pan dish for 45 min.

• 250g / 0.5lb ground beef
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 zucchini, grated, small
• 1 potato, small, grated
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients, form into small balls.

2. Brown the meatballs in a heated skillet, turn down the heat to medium, cover with a lid. Cook till ready for about 20 minutes.

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Mini Meatloaf

When I make these for the kids, I use a muffin baking pan to make individually-portioned cute meat muffins. If using a muffin pan, decrease the cooking time to 30 minutes.

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp mustard 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). 
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this mixture into eight miniature meatloaves. Place these in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. 
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf. 
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. 

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Chicken Curry

• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp curry
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 lb, cut into 1 chicken breast
• 2 cups peeled, chopped potato
  
• 1/2 cup sliced carrot
• 1 cup coarsely chopped apple
  
• 3/4 cup chopped white onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 seeded, finely chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 cups water
• 1,5 cup (13 oz) unsweetened coconut milk

1. In a large plastic bag combine flour, curry powder, cumin, and salt. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time; seal and shake to coat.
2. In a slow cooker combine potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers. Top with chicken. Pour water over chicken mixture.
3. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.
4. If using low-heat setting, turn the slow cooker to high-heat setting. Stir coconut milk into chicken mixture. Cover; cook for 30 minutes more. 
5. Serve over hot cooked rice. Sprinkle each serving with raisins and peanuts. Makes 8 servings.  

Modified recipe from the BHG website

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Best-Ever Meatballs

• 1/4 cups rice
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 white onion, grated
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• salt, ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

Tomato Sauce:

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t dried oregano leaves
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t cracked black peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick piece, about 5cm length
• 1 can tomatoes, 28oz/796 ml
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Meatballs: In a bowl, stir rice into 4 cups of boiling water. Set aside for 30min to soak, drain well. Return to bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except oil, and mix well. Form into 16 balls, each 2 inches in diameter.

2. In a skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and brown on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Drain all but 1tbsp  fat from pan.

3. Tomato Sauce: Reduce heat to med. Add onions to pan and cook, stirring until softened. Add garlic, oregano, salt, peppercorns, and cin. stick and cook, stirring for 1 min. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a boil, breaking up tomatoes with spoon as they cook.

4. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and cook on Low for 8h, on High for 4H until meatballs are no longer pink inside. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Can be prepared the night before. Complete step 3, adding 1T oil to pan before softening onions. Cover and refrigerate. Next day make the meatballs and cook as directed in steps 1, 2, 4. 

Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes by J. Finlayson

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