Spanish-style Meatballs with Polenta and Sautéed Greens Recipe

Posted on by sorellacaienna

Meatballs with Polenta & Greens | Garlic, My Soul
Spanish-Style Lamb Meatballs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound ground lamb or whatever ground meat you prefer
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (loosely-packed) fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 cup Manchego cheese, grated

Spicy Tomato Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp hot paprika
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2/3 cup red wine (whatever you’re drinking)
2 tsp granulated sugar

Caramelize the onions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or sauce pot over medium-heat until shimmering. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onions are quite soft and translucent, and beginning to release some moisture.
2. Uncover, turn the heat back up to medium, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the onions are golden brown and most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir regularly, and turn the heat down if the onions start to burn. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, and let cool to room-temperature.

Tomato Sauce:
1. Add the olive oil to the dutch oven you used for the caramelized the onions. Heat over medium heat until shimmering, then add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the fresh garlic, stir to combine, and cook another 2-3 minutes, until golden.
2. Add the tomatoes (with juice) and spices, and stir to combine. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until bubbling, then stir in the red wine and sugar. Turn the heat down to low, partially cover (leaving about a half-inch gap) and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes.
3. While you’re doing this, put someone else on the following:

Lamb Meatballs:
1. Add the ground lamb to the cooled caramelized onions, and combine with hands. Call whoever’s doing the combining “Meat Paws.” Stir in the eggs.
2. In another bowl, stir together herbs, spices, breadcrumbs and cheese until well-mixed. Add to the lamb mixture, and give whoever’s designated “Meat Paws” another go at combining. Roll the lamb into 1-inch balls, or let’s be honest, just make them whatever size your heart desires. Place onto an oiled sheet pan or throw down a silpat on your sheet pan if you have one, they’re the best.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until nicely browned. Transfer to the pot where your sauce is hanging out, tucking the meatballs into the sauce., Simmer the whole mess until completely cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

Polenta & Sautéed Greens

Let me give you the quick and dirty on this. We sliced garlic and toasted pine nuts (a couple of cloves of the first, a few handfuls of the second) in olive oil, and then threw in a bag of Trader Joe’s rainbow chard, but you could use spinach or arugula. We just happened to have it on hand. After sautéing it for about five minutes or so, we threw in some golden raisins, because we felt like offsetting the nuttiness of garlic and pine nuts with something sweet. My only note: go easy on the raisins, it’s easy to overdo it.

As for the polenta, we used four cups water to one cup polenta. Boil the water, throw in the polenta, and whisk as if your life depends on it for five minutes or so. Cover it and leave it alone for about ten minutes, or until it solidifies.

After that, we threw in leftover cheese from the meatballs (if you don’t have any, use parmesan- a little goes a long way) and also, leftover parsley. Parsley in polenta is life changing. Once it was done, we layered our bowls polenta, greens, meatballs, grabbed another glass of wine, and settled in for another long winter’s night.


 

Yum
 

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