{photo from the kitchn}
I am not a big meatballs person (sounds dirty, eh:)?). For me, it is exactly what it is...too much meat. I also immediately think about meatballs as Keema (An Indian minced goat/lamb dish). And no, I don't like that at all. It is just too meaty!
So, when we went to Townhall few weeks back, I saw Jon stuffing things in his pocket at the host station. When he finally came to the table, he handed over recipe cards that the restaurant has on their dishes for their patrons. I was elated and he knew I would be (that's why I love, my man!) He collected a few and one of them was for Roasted Veal Meatballs. It piqued my interest so, I decided to give it a try. And it was delicious! As usual, I didn't stick to the Townhall recipe in its entirety but it gave me a good outline and Jon & I were left wanting more.
Oh... and yes, we don't like veal so I substituted. Feel free to use the meat you heart desires.
{roasted meatballs}
Serves 4
1/2 pd ground Beef
3/4 pd ground Pork
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/6 cup fresh ricotta
2 slices of bread (I used wheat), soaked in milk. Remove crusts before soaking
1 tbls chopped parsley
salt & pepper
Preheat oven at 400.
Squeeze the milk out from the bread. Combine all ingredients and form into 2 oz balls. Brown the meatballs in a pan with olive oil. Put the brown meatballs into the oven and roast until cooked medium and its has nice brown color all over.
{green peppercorn sauce}
Serves 4
1 sliced yellow onion
1 medium sized carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 tbls Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup marsala wine or brandy
1 tbls green peppercorn
2 cups beef demi glace
1/4 cup cream
1 tbls butter
1 tbls crushed green peppercorns
salt & pepper
Caramelize onions, carrot and celery in a medium heated pan with olive oil. Add mustard and vinegar to the pan and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add brandy or marsala wine and whole peppercorns and bring to a simmer. Add the red wine and simmer again. Next, add demi glace and reduce by half to a sauce consistency. If it isn't thick as you would like it, add a bit of sifted flour to get the thick look.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer and put the liquid back into the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add in cream, butter, ground peppercorns, salt and pepper and mix well.
Serve meatballs with sauce on top. Garnish with parsley. To dip the sauce I used herb crusted bread. It was yum!
We ate the dish so fast, I forgot to take pictures again :)! I had another meatballs recipe bookmarked that does sound exciting as well. The picture above is from there...here is that recipe. Try and let me know, how it was.