Whether out of January’s new #lifegoals or dinner democracy, here are some recipes that will help stretch the meat you might eat to its fullest and use it as the glamorous and valuable accessory it is. Using meat as an accent also means that you can exclude it from the servings for those who don’t prefer to eat it, making dinner at your table as inclusive as it can be.
Meatballs are one of my favorite ways to make and serve just the right amount of meat, keeping the rest in the freezer for another day. Try these Frozen Merguez Meatballs (that I try to have on hand at all times), Chicken Zucchini Meatballs, or Grilled Kofta Meatballs. Other than the obvious ways to employ meatballs – pasta, add to soup – try this Roasted Meatball Salad or Roasted Meatball and Yogurt Stew.
Another way to stretch ground meat is to make sauce, like my Big Batch Sunday Sauce or a ground meat dish like Kheema (both of which are in my freezer right now), and then use it in ways that bring veggies to the center of the plate (like my Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls!) or even as a filling for stuffed peppers like these Ottolenghi-inspired stunners or these chiles en nogada (if the holidays zipped by too fast for you), or stuffed zucchini.
Split one chicken breast into two portions by making cutlets – one breast sliced in half into two pieces, then pounded into a thin, amorphous shape, preferably without holes – to make Simple Chicken Milanese or this Saltimbocca in place of the pork for a weeknight meal. Or these breaded chicken cutlets with pea salad perhaps, or grilled with a grapefruit salad or a grilled with a green bean and avocado salad. (If splitting the chicken breasts has you jazzed, keep on your home butchery jag with this post about breaking down chickens.)
If you’re inspired to go meatless entirely, I have vegetarian recipes for you too (and not just soup!): for White Lasagna, Escarole and Egg Crostino, Pasta with Lentil Ragù, vegan Thai Curly Zucchini Salad with Peanut Sauce and Tofu, or Red Lentil Moussaka. If you’re in the mood for vegan soup, of course I have you covered and then some; I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Soup Club and cook along with me as I make soup every week.
I hope this strategic thinking about meat fits your review of your habits on this first day of this new year: with kindness and inclusion, a way that considers “just enough” while still feeling celebratory and delicious. As an extra thanks to my paid subscribers, an oversized turkey meatball recipe to add to your rotation follows this letter, my very favorite to add to a brothy soup. To all readers here, thank you for joining and wandering through weeknight recipe daydreams with me, the part I love most about being your friend in the kitchen. Happy New Year, sweet friends!
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