Recipe Challenge: Part III

Encouraged by Danielle's experiment, we obtained some authentic kamut (an historic species of Egyptian wheat, "khorasan" wheat) and tried a second experiment. The kamut berries looked like fat grains of rice (see pictures, click to enlarge), and they boiled up to about twice their size, becoming chewy, wheaty tasting grains. They have to be whole wheat, and thus nutritious, but they don't taste oily to me, like regular whole wheat does.

Anyway, we made one small meat loaf, with a half pound of ground beef, half a cup of kamut boiled al dente, red wine, a quarter cup of parmesan, minced garlic, one slice of chopped onion, a half teaspoon of thyme, and salt and pepper--no egg, no breadcrumbs, no off-the-shelf sauce. The idea was to test the basic ingredients only.

Result: as an exercise in extending the meat (which is what meatloaf is all about, after all) it was a success. We had not appreciated the power of thyme, however, and that dominated everything else. Next time, no thyme (rhyme intentional). The texture was crumbly, which was no problem, and chewy, thanks to the kamut, which was fun. You can't just pound down the meatloaf, as so often happens. You have to chew it and enjoy it.

Note for next time: try a dash of liquid mesquite smoke. For those not in the southwest, liquid hickory smoke ought to similarly add a slightly smoky, exotic flavor.