For those of you who knew me back in Canada, you're aware of my "thing" for Jamie Oliver. It's more of an admiration / appreciation thing really: he's run several successful restaurants, has his own tv shows (several of them), has done some pretty philanthropic things in his short career, has sold more than 2.5 million cookbooks, has his own brand of cookware and several other product lines, has the attention of several world leaders in his area of expertise ... and he's only 30 years old!
I met him, briefly, in late 2005 on his way through Toronto on a book-signing tour. Seriously can't believe he's had all this success at such a young age. (gosh, he's only 1 year older than me!)
One of his newest initiatives involves opening restaurants using underpriviledged youths with no food experience to staff his kitchen. The entire interview / selection process, the staff's training, and retrofitting / opening of the restaurant is all taped through a reality tv series for the viewing public. The Fifteen Foundation (i.e. "15" youths to staff the kitchen - get it?) has thusfar opened two Fifteen restaurants (London and Amsterdam), with the third one opening this month in Melbourne (http://www.fifteenmelbourne.com.au/). Quite the coincidence that I'm IN Australia at the moment, no? So, naturally I'm tuning in for the season.
Might as well cook some Jamie Oliver recipes to eat while I'm watching. Maybe, for the first episode, something comfort foody: "Spaghetti and Meatballs a la Jamie Oliver" (http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=3488 ), with some minor modifications to take advantage of cheap lamb here in Australia.
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and pounded with a pinch of salt
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and pounded
2 x small dried red chillies, pounded
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 x egg
2 handful bread
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1 - For the meatballs: If your meat is not already minced, whizz it up in a food processor to the required consistency and place it in a bowl.
2 - Use the food processor to turn the bread into breadcrumbs. Add the breadcrumbs, dried oregano, cumin, coriander, chilli, rosemary and egg yolk to the minced meat and season with a good pinch of salt and a good twist of black pepper. Mix well, and, with wet hands, roll and pat into meatballs the size and shape you want. (These can be cooked straight away or put on greaseproof paper, covered with clingfilm and refrigerated for up to a day.)
3 - Preheat a thick-bottomed frying pan to a very hot temperature, add 3—4 tablespoons of olive oil, swirl around the bottom of the pan and add your meatballs. Fry them until they are brown all over, being careful not to break them up but just moving the pan around so that all sides of the meatballs get nicely coloured.
4 - Add spaghetti sauce, either store-bought or home-made (approx. 4 cups of sauce). Simmer on low heat until heated through.
5 - Serve over al dente pasta.
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