Boulettes épicées en bouillon

Succulent spicy meatballs served in broth with cream and topped with fresh dill — now that’s what I call comfort food with a capital C, except that this dish is light, not heavy. I first made it on a winter’s evening and have since repeated it many times as it proved very popular here at home. What inspired this creation? I may have had Swedish meatballs on my mind, but I added cumin, ground coriander, cayenne and cilantro to spice things up a bit…

Boulettes épicées au bouillon / Spicy meatballs in broth

… and then –inspiration! — heated up some chicken broth, swirled in a couple spoonfuls of crème fraîche, added the meatballs and, just before serving, snipped fresh dill on top. This could probably be called a fusion dish as it combines flavors from various parts of the world. The cream and dill evoke Russian cuisine, the meatballs evoke the Middle East and Italy as well as Sweden. And, as I made it in my Paris kitchen, it’s also French (imho)…

So, to get down to specifics. The meatballs are made of a mixture of ground beef and pork (sausage meat), with onion and garlic in addition to the spices. I roasted the meatballs in the oven, which is lighter than frying and has the advantage of ensuring that they keep their shape. I then heated up some homemade chicken broth, which I make regularly and keep in small quantities in my freezer — for occasions just such as this.

When the meatballs came out of the oven, I swirled the cream into the broth (more = better), then added the meatballs with their juices. The final touch was the fresh dill. My daughter prefers these meatballs over rice, while I prefer them on their own. A chacun son goût, as they say (rough translation: ‘Whatever turns you on’).

This is the sort of meal that’s very easy to prepare, providing you have the broth on hand. I made it last weekend when I got back from England and needed a quick suppertime dish. And what about England? People keep asking me about the weather. Well, rainy, blustery, biting cold with the occasional sunny spell, but you don’t go to England for the weather. You didn’t used to go to England for the food either, but that has now changed.

I had some fabulous meals over there, and will mention just a few. An incredible Brazilian-style stew of monkfish in a tomato-onion-pepper and coconut milk sauce (recipe coming soon), Trinidad and Tobago-style spicy fish fritters, a vegetable dish of wild garlic, kale and other greens gathered in my friend’s London allotment (garden patch), a creamy soup of nettles picked by another friend during a woodland walk. Now that’s creative cuisine…

Happy cooking!