Recipe #65: Meatballs!

 A good friend gave me the original recipe for these meatballs, apparently from her head. It was never written down. It was so simple, and I made it so regularly, the recipe lived in my head too. But then years passed, times changed, and I somehow stopped making these meatballs. Out of the blue, something made me think of them again. But the recipe was long purged from my head, likely to make room for some new drivel. But somewhere in the recesses of my aging brain, along with some muscle memory once I got started, and some creative license, I’ve brought them back, baby!

Ingredients:

Sorry, no photos today. I’m getting a « 403 error » from Blogger so I guess I’m banned from uploading photos from my device. Alas.

For the meatballs:

- 1 pound ground beef

- 1 egg

- quick oats, a handful or so

- about a Tbsp each of garlic and onion powders 

- a finely chopped shallot 

- fresh or dried dill

- a glug or two of canola oil 

And for the saucy gravy:

- tamari sauce 

- 1 Tbsp corn starch

- more dill

- salt to taste

- sour cream, a generous spoonful 

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl add the beef, egg, dill, powders and oats. With your hands, mix and incorporate everything well.

Heat your canola oil in a nice big pan, I’m using our well-seasoned carbon steel pan. I wish I could show you the picture. Sigh.

Make meatballs and add them to the hot oiled pan so that they don’t touch each other. I made 23 little meatballs and they filled the pan perfectly. If only you could see them. Ach!

Turn them as they brown to brown them evenly on all sides. A lot of liquid fat may be accumulating. Just spoon it out and discard carefully (not directly down the sink unless you want it to clog!). Maybe use an old can or other waste receptacle.

When the balls are nicely browned, add water and a few glugs of tamari sauce to the pan. Also add more dill, fresh or dried. The balls should be about 2/3 - 3/4 submerged in the liquid. Simmer for about 30 minutes, allowing the meatballs to fully cook and the liquid to reduce. A picture here would have been helpful. Darn you, Blogger!

While the balls are simmering and their liquid reducing, you may want to make some mashed potatoes as a side dish. In fact, I know you should.

When the liquid is fairly reduced and the balls cooked through, add a corn starch slurry to the pan to make a nice gravy. Bring it up to a boil briefly to thicken, then simmer and ensure all the balls are nicely coated in sauce.

Add a generous dollop of sour cream and mix well, thickening and enriching the sauce. Taste and add salt if necessary. Maybe pepper too, if you think it needs it.

Serve meatballs and gravy over mashed potatoes, maybe with a nice side salad. 

You’ll have to use your imagination, but this meal looks gorgeous!

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