Tuesday 17 April 2012

*My mother-in-law's cooking* {gluten-free recipe}

The first time I met my mother-in-law, we knew right away that we had at least one thing in common: our "love" and passion for cooking.  Our first encounter was at my father-in-law's restaurant. I mentioned at one point in our conversation that I liked cooking and that was the beginning of a beautiful culinary friendship!  We spent an hour talking about our favourite recipes and how we execute them.  Nowadays, food still brings us together no matter what: we compare recipes, we experiment with new ingredients, we even try out new cookware.

What I love about my mother-in-law's Mediterranean dishes is that they are light and prepared with lots of love. I try to achieve her recipes in my kitchen but I have yet to master them like her.  She has her own interpretation of numerous Greek classics and today I felt like sharing one of my favourites: Yiouvarlakia (which happens to be gluten-free).  This dish is basically "meatball soup" but my mother-in-law reinvented this classic meal in order for my son to eat more veggies.  It is usually made with an egg-lemon sauce which I adore but I prefer the simplicity of the recipe below because it freezes well.

(picture sintagoulis.gr)


Yiouvarlakia

1 chopped carrot
1 chopped celery stalk
1 small potato diced
1 small can tomato juice
750ml water or veggie broth
salt

1 lbs minced veal
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 grated onion
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup calrose rice
salt & pepper

1. Bring to a simmer the first six ingredients.
2. In a bowl, mix well the rest of the ingredients.  Make small meatballs and put them in the simmering broth.  Let them simmer on low heat for an hour. 
3.  Remove all the meatballs and puree the veggies in the broth.  Transfer the meatballs back to the "pureed" broth and serve warm.

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