Savory Sundays #5: Bastardized insalata caprese and meatloaf patties

I generally dislike Rachel Ray.  She’s so damned chipper, like a rabid chipmunk.  However, I used to watch 30 Minute Meals when I was in college.  At that time, I was just starting to really get into the nitty gritty of cooking and had pretty much stopped using mixes.  I was reading cookbooks and food literature like it was all going to be burned tomorrow and Food Network was a primary source of inspiration even if not of accurate information.  Let’s face it, FoodTV can be about as informative as the History channel is these days.  And Rachel Ray’s ideas, recipes and information are definitely not often things I’d actually want to eat.  I watched her show, however, because I watched ALL of the shows and took methods, techniques, ideas, and recipes in bits and pieces from all of the Food Network chefs to develop the style of cooking that I’ve created over the years. 

I have no memory of the original recipe for these meatloaf patties, and it ends up slightly different every time too because I’ve never written it down.  This is an easy one to be creative with and I think of this as less of a recipe and more as a technique.  You can use almost anything you have lying around the kitchen and it’s almost guaranteed to end up yummy and satisfying.

When I stopped eating beef about a decade ago, one of the few things I actually missed was meatloaf.  Yes, I know it’s terribly uncool, but I have always loved a good meatloaf.  I eventually figured out that I could make it with ground turkey (I was still mostly cooking from boxes and mixes at this time, but definitely learning and experimenting), but it’s time consuming and it makes a lot.  Ray’s meatloaf patties were a perfect solution!  I could make the patties and do all kinds of things with them.  I’ve had them on buns as a sandwich, over pasta, over rice, by themselves – it doesn’t matter, they’re just good.  They can also be part of a very seasonal meal.  This time around, I made them a little bit summery with some pesto, but they’re also excellent with gravy made from the tidbits leftover in the skillet after cooking the patties. 

I served it, this time, with a side of bastardized insalata caprese.  I say it’s bastardized, because typically this dish is served using large slices of tomatoes and mozzarella.  However, the garden gave us a nice harvest of red cherry and yellow pear tomatoes today, so I halved them, and sprinkled some fresh basil over them (The proper cut for basil is called “chiffonade”.  To do this, pluck the leaves off the stems, pile them on top of each other, roll them up like a newspaper and cut into strips crosswise). I took a ball of fresh mozzarella, cut it up into small pieces and put that in the bowl with the tomatoes and basil.  Ideally, I would have used the small “pellets” that come in a container of water, but Safeway doesn’t seem to carry those, so I had to use a ball this time.  Whatever you have, doesn’t matter what shape it comes in.  Anyway, I like to put just a little salt and pepper over it all, and then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.  I’ve used red balsamic, white balsamic, Italian herb infused and sherry vinegars and they’re all good, but my favorite is the sherry vinegar.   At any rate, I did this before I started anything else so that the flavors could mingle while I made the rest of dinner.  DO NOT REFRIGERATE!  Tomatoes lose flavor when refrigerated and cold things don’t meld as well as things at room temperature, so just let the insalata sit on the kitchen table while you work on the rest.

While the tomatoes are marinating, put some water on to boil for egg noodles.

And while the water is getting hot for the noodles, take one package ground turkey and add an egg, herbs and seasonings to taste, a diced onion, a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, a handful of parmesan cheese, and about 2/3 of a cup of bread crumbs (if you’re gluten free, Bob’s Redmill makes some excellent gluten free breadcrumbs that have a nice light nutty flavor to them). 

*Random rant: This shit needs to be mixed up.  Sure, you can dirty a spoon, but why?  Don’t be afraid to be hands-on with your food!  Dive right in there; squish it up with your hand!  Especially if you’re a very tactile person; my hands seem to be much better at telling me when something is properly mixed than my eyes are.  Cooking should be an experience for all of the senses and touch is definitely an important one.  Experience teaches your hands to tell you when something is wrong that your eyes may not catch (like a slimy texture where there shouldn’t be, for example).  Also, there’s just no need to dirty a spoon if you don’t have to, and since you’re going to be forming the patties anyway, you’re still going to be getting your hands in it.  No sense in holding back – your hands are two of the best mixing tools you have and, miraculously enough, they are washable!  End rant.

Squish the contents of your bowl together. 

Add about a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a skillet and get it nice and hot on medium-high heat.  Form the turkey mixture into large meatballs about an inch and a half in diameter, then flatten to form patties and put in the hot pan.  Cook about 12 minutes on each side until nicely browned and cooked all the way through.  I put a baking rack on a plate and put the finished ones on there while I cook the rest.  Don’t forget to throw your noodles in the water when it gets to boiling. You can use whatever kind of noodles you like – I like to use whole wheat egg noodles.

When the noodles are done, drain them and mix about a quarter to a half of a cup of pesto in with them (if using half a bag of noodles, a quarter, or up to a half cup for a full bag of noodles).  Put a pile of pesto’d noodles on a plate, then put a couple of your medallions on top.  From here, you can do several things.

You could throw some stir fried vegetables in with the pasta before you pesto, or pile them on top of the pasta with your patties. I sautéed mushrooms in butter and olive oil and piled them on my pasta with my patties.  I also put a little more pesto over the top of my patties, and sprinkled just a little more parmesan on the top of the whole mess. 

A seasonal variation:  These are excellent with gravy as well, especially in the winter.  Make as above, leaving out all pesto-related steps.  Instead, wait until the patties are cooked, add two tablespoons of butter to the pan.  Once melted, add two tablespoons of flour and mix to make a roux.  Allow to brown very slightly, then slowly add about 1 ½ cups stock and let it come to a slow boil while stirring constantly and making sure to scrape all the little turkey and seasoning bits from the pan into your sauce.  When sufficiently thickened (when it thickly coats the back of a spoon), take it off the heat and ladle it over your patties and noodles (or rice or quinoa or even mashed potatoes!).  Serve with roasted root vegetables on the side or incorporated into the main dish and enjoy!