Meatballs are meat balls unless they’re vegetarian and then they’re called koefte or kofta which are very popular in India. I’ll have to try Lauki Kofta some day. For now I’ve had enough of koftas after disappointing results with a recipe I found in an old issue of Gourmet Magazine. The now defunct magazine's kitchen wizards beefed up grated zucchini with fresh herbs and mashed chickpeas to come up with Zucchini Koefte. Well, they looked scrumptious, I thought. Gourmet had always set the standard for expert food photography.
Nick, Greg’s twin brother, and I had just come back from our weekly visit to Tanner’s Farm, one of the best places in Bucks county for fresh dairy and veggies, so I was fully stocked to try Gourmet Magazine’s spin on “kofta”.
I trimmed the stem and coarsely grated a fairly large zucchini. It must have weighed about a pound.
Instead of the salt I tossed the zucchini with a little lemon juice in a colander and let it rest while I chopped three cloves of garlic and a handful of parsley.
As instructed I wrapped the zucchini in a linen kitchen towel. I twisted the towel to wring out as much liquid as possible.
The thoroughly drained and rinsed chickpeas got a good mashing with a fork and were then tossed with the zucchini, garlic, parsley, a teaspoon of cilantro, a teaspoon of cumin and half a teaspoon of coriander. A quick taste and it was clear that the mixture needed to be spiked. I went for lots of freshly ground black pepper and a healthy dash of cayenne. Instead of the 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs the recipe called for, I added a toasted and crumbled slice of whole wheat bread.
It was impossible to shape the mixture into balls. There was no cohesion. But I managed to scoop portions onto a foil-lined and lightly oil-sprayed baking sheet.
After 45 minutes in a 375-degree oven, I must say they looked rather appetizing.
The slightly crunchy exterior was nice but the innards were fluffy and extremely bland. But at this point I was too hungry to care.
I slathered them with my hot-chile-ginger-garlic sauce and wolfed them down. Next time I’ll add lots of sauteed onions and use cannellini beans instead of chick peas.
I wonder what Bill Clinton had for lunch today.
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