© Constantine William Spyrou
One of the great things of cooking at home is that there are no restrictions on what you can make - literally, the world is your oyster when it comes to what you want to make in the kitchen. All you need are the right ingredients to create anything you want. It's the ultimate lab for me, because you can experiment with so many things and figure out just how you want it.
I aimed to do that after my mom made a dish a few years ago for my friends and I. For dinner, she made Turkey, Ouzo, and Jalapeno burger patties that were extremely delicious. I've always wanted to create my own spin on it, and I was able to find it. Using Poblano to keep the heat at a lower level, and adding in the richness of a risotto, this makes a truly comforting but delicious meal. The turkey meatball recipe is my own, but it was inspired by my mother's recipe from all those years ago. The risotto is also my own recipe, and has its own innovative Mexican spin on it: the stock used to cook the risotto in is actually posole-style stock, which is a traditional Mexican dish. It contains Guajillo chile normally, and the soup itself is served with hominy (a type of corn) and chicken. This dish won't have the chicken, but it will have corn to play off those hominy notes and add another level of sweetness.
Recipe will serve 4 people.
For the Posole Stock:
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups dried guajillo chillies, steep in warm water to be reconstituted
4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and pepper to season
For the Meatballs:
2 pounds ground turkey meat
1 whole poblano chile
2 shots ouzo (about 2-3 fl oz or 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons dill
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to season
For the Risotto:
2 1/2 cups arboreal rice
1/4 cup diced shallots
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup fresh corn off the cob
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Parmesean cheese
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to season
Cooking/Assembling:
1. Start by making the posole stock. Combine all of the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Cool, then blend together to make a uniform stock. Set aside.
2. Roast the poblano chile on an open flame until it is charred on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Place in a plastic bag, then rub to remove the skin off of the poblano. Dice up the poblano chile afterward.
3. In a mixing bowl, add the turkey, spices, ouzo, and diced poblano. Combine well, then form into about 2-oz meatballs (no more than 1/2 inch in diameter).
4. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. Place the meatballs onto a greased baking sheet. Add a small amount of water to keep the meatballs from sticking. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. In a hot pan at medium-high heat, add the olive oil to the pan. Add your shallots and the minced garlic, and quickly sautee for about 1 minute. Add the rice, and quickly toast for another minute until the rice turns a light golden color.
6. Add your posole stock about 1/2 cup at a time until the rice has fully absorbed all of the stock, constantly stirring throughout. This process will take about 20 minutes.
7. When the rice is fully cooked, add your corn, butter, Parmesean cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir and combine well until the butter and Parmesean are melted into the risotto.
8. Serve about 4 meatballs each on top of your plates of risotto for each person.
My favorite part about this dish is that there are so many cuisines working together here! You've got the Mexican notes of the poblano chile and the posole stock, richness from the Italian risotto, and some licorice-like notes from the dill and ouzo in the meatballs that evoke a Greek flavor. Having all of these cuisines work together makes the dish exciting and fun to make too!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know what you think and what you would change. If you make it at home, let me know how it turns out! Enjoy! =)
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