Day 47: midweek ballast

For some unknown reason, I decided to go for a run today. Despite feeling like my entire body was failing on me - kidney pains, chest pains, gum pains (?) - I guess it was at the very least beneficial to my health, although it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time. Jokes aside, I know exercise has its perks, I’ve just yet to find a kind I actually enjoy, and I will pursue my little get-fit venture - for the foreseeable future. The metaphorical incentive carrot dangling in front of me, however, was enough to get me through this particular ordeal: knowing that we’d soon be tucking into a bowl of Nigella’s Black Pudding Meatballs and Brown Butter Colcannon for dinner; enough to almost bring myself to a canter, in the hopes of reaching home sooner.

Nigella’s Black Pudding Meatballs

I’ve made the Brown Butter Colcannon before (Day 26), but tonight I really felt like I smashed it; the butter turned just the right kind of hazelnut and its nutty creaminess resonated throughout.

I don’t often make meatballs. I love them but I rarely partake in the time and effort required to craft them. The simple reason for this being that I allow my anxiety to put me off; a million hesitations whizz through my head and take the enjoyment factor away, so I just don’t bother. That’s why I so love this 365-day Nigella cookalong: amongst the play-it-safe recipe choices that I know I will love, I’m also choosing ones that are out of my comfort zone. I’m not talking about my culinary comfort zone here - I’m talking about my emotional comfort zone, and sometimes stepping out of that isn’t a battle I choose to fight. I am so glad to be working on these issues throughout this cookalong though; it really is proving to be quite the source of therapy that I was searching for. It was welcomingly calming making these meatballs and it encouraged me to take that time to stop, take a breath, slow down (in life) and focus on something one enjoys.

I used pork mince - with a very generous fat content - simply because I had some from the butcher’s in the freezer, so my version may look a little paler than the original. I also used tinned cherry tomatoes; I love their tangy sweetness and the seeds as they burst open during cooking.

Flavour musings

This is the very bowl of goodness that I wanted to gently lift me over the midweek hump, and the ballast I need to get me through to cocktail o’clock on Friday. It’s also the only pre-run incentive and post-run reward that I’ll ever need.

If it’s not too bold to say, I am thinking of making a Shepherds Pie-like meal from its leftovers; breaking up the meatballs into their intensely rich sauce and then using the leftover colcannon as the potato top. I have absolutely no issue repeating the same meal for days in a row - in fact, I actually love it - but I also like the personal challenge of transforming leftovers; not to the point they become something entirely different (as I want to keep the original flavour base) but perhaps just take on a slightly different form.