Meatballs with Couscous and Feta

lease repeat after me: "Couscous and water do not mix. I will only mix couscous with stock." Meatballs are usually a safe dish, but wow, did I step in it when I made Tuesday's menu. My standing policy on onions is that they're awesome cooked, but otherwise I will politely pass. Why, then, did I dump half an uncooked, chopped red onion into a bowl with turkey (and dried apricots?), thinking they'd magically cook in the few minutes they were on the stovetop? Also, I followed- naively - the recipe's instructions for the couscous, which came out dry, bland and gummy. What I'd already known is that couscous is best with chicken stock and always needs some sort of seasoning. If you're noticing a brown mess on my plate, that would be the white wine reduction I made with the pan drippings as a last-ditch effort to give the couscous any flavor.

On the bright side, the feta and cucumber were really tasty, especially with the lemon dressing.

TUESDAY:



Lamb Meatballs With Couscous and Feta
Serves 4 (I made the full recipe so I'd have leftovers)

Hands-on Time: 25m

Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground lamb or beef (I subbed 99% lean ground turkey)
* 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1 cup couscous
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
* 1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
* 4 ounces Feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Heat broiler. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, apricots, coriander, chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

2. Form the meat into 1 ½-inch balls (about 20) and place them on a broilerproof baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the couscous in a bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

5. Serve the couscous with the meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber, Feta, and sliced onion. Drizzle with the dressing.

Tip

Crumbled Feta sold in the supermarket is often dry, flavorless, and treated with additives. For tastier results, buy a block of cheese and crumble it yourself.