Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara

I wanted to make a healthy dinner as Jamie and I have been going out a lot lately (baseball games, concerts, etc). I can't complain, because we had an awesome weekend/week, but I wanted some veggies. I searched Epicurious for a healthy main course and this came up. Not so heavy on veggies, but I served it with a Greek salad at the end. It was super tasty and not too difficult. A little more labor intensive than a regular week night meal, but all in all it took about an hour, so not bad. And it was delicious! (So were the leftovers I had for lunch.) The yogurt sauce is mild, but a nice, cool accompaniment. I like the way the tahini makes the yogurt thicker and more earthy. The muhammara (first time making it) was really tasty. I'll probably add more red pepper flakes next time. And I would probably roast my own peppers - the jarred peppers make it a little acidic. Also, it made me buy pomegranate molasses which I can't wait to experiment with. It taste like a sour candy, and I love sour candies! I want to make drinks with it. More on that later! Here's the recipe for these tasty kofte and their delectable sauces.

Muhammara (from this recipe on Epicurious)

Make your own Mia Dona

I don't know if any of you have eaten at Mia Dona, but if you're in the 50s or 60s on the East Side with a craving for good Italian, go! They've changed the menu a little bit, but it's still delicious, and it's not expensive. On the old menu they had a ricotta gnudi which was absolutely delicious. Gnudi is like gnocchi, only much lighter. In one cookbook, they say gnudi is the filling of the ravioli with no wrapper, so it's nude. Luckily for us, Michael Psilakis loves to share his recipes and I found this particular gnudi recipe on Epicurious. It's a litte more time consuming than most pastas, but it's definitely worth it and it's very impressive for dinner. The dash of truffle oil makes it extra luxurious and the sauteed procsuitto makes me want to switch out my weekend bacon for this extra crispy treat. Here's the recipe:


Gnudi

• 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese*

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 ounce) plus additional for serving
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Large pinch of ground white pepper
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour plus additional for coating

Sauce and garnishes

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 6 thin prosciutto slices
• 12 whole fresh sage leaves

• 2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster, and stemmed shiitake), sliced
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon black truffle oil*
• 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) chilled butter, diced

• *Available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.

For gnudi:
Line medium bowl with several layers of paper towels. Spoon ricotta cheese into bowl. Let drain at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Beat egg, 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, and white pepper in large bowl to blend. Mix in ricotta. Sprinkle 3/4 cup flour over and stir gently to blend. Cover and chill dough 1 hour. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
Line rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place some flour in bowl. For each gnudi, gently roll 1 heaping teaspoonful of dough into ball. Add to flour; toss to coat lightly, shaping into short log. Place on baking sheet. Do ahead Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.
For sauce and garnishes:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot or extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 prosciutto slices. Cook until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining prosciutto. Add whole sage leaves to pot; sauté until crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towels.
Heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and chopped sage. Sauté until mushrooms brown and liquids evaporate, about 12 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add broth to same pot and boil until slightly reduced, scraping up browned bits, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon truffle oil and mushroom mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. do ahead Sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Cook gnudi in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, rewarm sauce. Add butter; toss until blended. Using strainer, transfer gnudi to pot with sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats gnudi. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to large shallow bowl. Crumble prosciutto over. Top with sage leaves; serve with additional Pecorino.


Good luck!