Continuing on from the previous post, this installment of The GGJ features the rambunctious duo The Dancing Abraders (Sarah & Sally). As you would be aware they are some of my uni kids.
In the first year of our degree there were several groups, but none really interacted outside of lectures and tutes. Being the social butterfly that I am, I certainly fixed that and threw "random" house parties so that people could mingle. Nothing says getting to know others like a group of people with pots on their head whilst sitting in an empty bath. Once bonded, and after each semester, we would have end of exam drinks which were always epic. Over the 3 years we became really close, sharing in births, deaths, marriages and of course random 21st birthdays in the creepy western suburbs.
Sarah and Sally are best friends from high school and were most commonly thought of as twins. This was not due to physical similarities (watch the video below and you'd see they couldn't be more unalike), but that they were always joined at the hip and seemed to share a consciousness. In fact on more than one occasion they would rock up to lectures and be wearing similar outfits without having even talked that day.
So how did they attain the nickname 'The Dancing Abraders'? Well, they both have an abundance of energy and Sarah is actually a trained dancer (Sal, not so much). In our Psychophyisology lab classes we would sometimes look at physical testing of psychological processes using EEG. Always enjoying being the "guinea pig", I was generally the test subject. When applying the electrodes to the scalp or skin, you first had to make sure the skin was clean. Then to get a good electrical connection we would abrade the area with some "sandpaper" before putting on conductive gel. This would be Sarah and Sally's job and so the name stuck.
Now in the past few years of my self-guided culinary education, I had never cooked anything for the uni kids. So I thought something familiar to them that was also quick and easy would be a good idea to introduce them to my cooking expertise, so we could spend the time catching up (and of course have a bottle of wine or 4). Meatballs was the perfect match.
Meatballs around the world come is various shapes and sizes, with differing ingredients and assorted names. From the infamous Köttbullar in Sweden to the Indonesian Bakso, meatballs can be found across the globe. The Albanians, being so close to the Middle East, have been influenced by Persian cuisine, namely Kofta. However, the Albanians have their own spin by adding feta cheese to their Qofte. And this makes it delicious.
Enjoy, or as they say in Albania, T'boftë mire!
Link for those feeling they need a delicious meat injection: http://www.marga.org/food/int/albania/qofte.html
Difficulty: 5
Appearance: 4
Taste: 4
TOTAL: 13
I am loving this run of easy to make dishes. Not much to Qofte balls, just mix the ingredients, fry, and serve.
The colour of the herbs do compliment the beef mince well, and are paired perfectly with the yoghurt dipping sauce. And the smell was intoxicating to say the least (or was that just the many drinks I had consumed already).
Meat, it's pretty good right? Well some of the Molefaces (looking in your direction Lady Leah) prefer their food to be solely meat, for as a wise man once said: "You don't win friends with salad." And therefore any meatball is gonna be great by me. But the Albanians have kicked it up a notch by adding feta to the mix. Masterstroke! It melts and blends with the herbs beautifully, and then once dipped into the yoghurt dipping sauce, it's spectacular taste knows no bounds.
(For those playing at home, Albania made their Eurovision debut in 2004. In the 7 years of participating, they have made the final a total of 5 times, with their best result finishing 7th. The rest of the time they've only managed to poll in the lower end of performances. Maybe if they throw delicious Qofte balls in the crowd, they would place higher. Just a suggestion for this year Albania!)
