Stuffed Meatballs and Polenta

Dear Devon,

By nature, I am not a meatball eating person. Spaghetti in my house was always served sans meatballs: tomato sauce, pasta, and cheese. I never understood the allure of the meatball. To me, they were indigestible: Too dense and too chewy. Meatballs were something that sat in your stomach, like pancakes, weighing you down until you finally succumbed to the only thing you can do to alleviate your discomfort, sleep. So, I was a bit hesitant when I started out.

There are a number of challenges that need to be addressed when making the perfect meatball. How to avoid the dreaded cannonball in the stomach? Arteries, you need to respect them. How do I produce a meatball that is low in fat content, yet still succulent and rich in flavor? Frying them in a pan with oil seemed completely unappealing, for both the mess and again the arteries.

About a year ago, I perfected my recipe for pasta bolognese. The sauce was rich and supple, earthy with a bit of tang and a slight sweetness. The meat had an amazingly light texture, almost silken, yet still with a vibrant richness. I achieved this by mixing the meat before cooking with a paste made of breadcrumbs and milk, which I then incorporated into the ground meat. The bolognese recipe also calls for a finely diced mix of carrots, onions, and celery. This processed combo of veggies served as the base for the tomato sauce, giving it a hearty texture and bit of fragrance. From my experiments with the bolognese sauce, these two aspects impressed me most. I began wondering how else could I use these techniques.

In another whirl of inspiration, I decided to up the ante a bit, adding a bit more decadence. I had originally purchased a box of perlini mozzarella for a tomato and arugula salad. The sight of the uneaten mozzarella sitting in a tub of murky water was a bit unappetizing, so I decided to use them in my meatballs. Later, I filled the meatballs with soft

I cooked them on the stove in a cast iron skillet with lots of oil. But in the end, decided to use the oven instead. I like the oven method better because the clean up is easier. With the stovetop method, oil splattered everywhere. The meatballs had to be patted down because they were covered in grease, plus I had to stand there while they cooked. When using the oven, I placed a wire cooling rack, oven-proof, on a baking sheet lined with foil. Turned the oven up to 400 degrees, and placed each spherical meatball on the rack. The baking sheet collects the dripped fat and a wonderful dark, crunchy crust forms. Delicious. The same effect with a quarter of the mess!! That's my type of cooking!!

These meatballs are wonderful on their own, with a light cucumber yogurt sauce or mint jelly. For a new twist, I whipped up a quick tomato sauce. Throwing a few meatballs into the sauce for the last five minutes of cooking. I whipped up some quick no-fail polenta, poured on my sauce, and topped it with the lamb and goat cheese meatballs.


Lamb Meatballs with Goat Cheese
3/4 lb ground lamb
1/3 c breadcrumbs
2 tbsp cream
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c grated pecorino cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 oz soft goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Comfortably nest a cooling rack on the making sheet. This works best if the sides of the baking sheet can fully enclose the cooling rack.

In a small bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in the cream. Be sure the breadcrumbs absorb all the cream to form a dense paste, about 10 minutes.

Drain the perlini mozzarella in a strainer. Set aside.

Using a food processor, combine celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Process until the mix is finely grated. Measure out 2/3 cup of the grated veggie mix into a large mixing bowl. Grate in pecorino cheese. Add in nutmeg, thyme, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Beat in the egg, thoroughly mixing the ingredients together. Add in the ground lamb and the breadcrumb paste. Thoroughly mix.

Using your hands, form the meat into spheres roughly the size of a ping pong ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and place a single ball of mozzarella in the center. Close the meat around the cheese. Place the finished meatball on the cooling rack. Continue forming about 20-24 meatballs.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked through the center.


Rustic Tomato Sauce.
3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of the diced veggie mix (from above)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup red wine
salt and red pepper flakes

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the diced veggie mix and garlic in the hot oil. When the veggies begin to exude their wonderful fragrance (5-7 minutes), add the tomato paste. Gently fry the tomato paste in the oil and stir vigorously to thoroughly coat the cooking veggies. Add in all the diced tomatoes. Liberally salt. Add in a pinch of red pepper flakes and sugar. Cook over medium flame covered, allowing the tomatoes to release their juices (10-15 minutes). Stir in water and red wine. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. For additional flavor, drop in a few meatballs and cover, cooking gently for 5 minutes longer.

Polenta
Mark Bittman's no fail recipe

1 cup milk
2 cups water
1 cup coarse cornmeal
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated cheese, pecorino or parmesan
generous pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped dill (optional)

In a large pot, bring 1 cup milk and 2 cups water to a boil. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of cornmeal. Add a large pinch of salt. Turn the heat down. Allow the mixture to simmer and stir occasionally. Cook on a simmer for about 20 minutes. When the polenta gets nice and thick, add the grated cheese. Mix in dill.