Post by amarante on Oct 8, 2016 19:24:28 GMT -5
These were a very good variant on meatballs in tomato sauce.
Chorizo Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Source: Graham Elliot - Cooking Like a Master Chef: 100 Recipes to Make the Everyday Extraordinary
{SERVES 6 TO 8; MAKES ABOUT 20 MEATBALLS}
CHORIZO IS SPICY AND SMOKY, two things that mankind has been drawn to for millennia. The tomato sauce isn’t too hot and tends to balance well with the natural sweetness from the tomatoes themselves, but you can add or take away some of that heat, if you prefer. Making meatballs at home is fun and a good way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. Meatballs are also a perfect way to use up any leftover trimmings you have from beef, chicken, lamb, or pork.
PREP TIME: ABOUT 20 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 40 TO 45 MINUTES
MEATBALLS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces ground pork shoulder
8 ounces lean ground beef
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, casings removed, sausage meat minced
2 large eggs
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette, cayenne pepper, or hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground sumac
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt
SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can piquillo peppers, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Fresh lemon juice
Salt
GARNISH
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1. For the meatballs, in a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent and softened. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. In a large bowl, mix the pork, beef, sausage, eggs, Parmesan, bread crumbs, wine, parsley, chives, piment d’Espelette, sumac, lemon zest, and a little salt. Add the cooled onion and garlic. Using your hands, work the mixture until the ingredients are well mixed. Season with salt.
4. Roll the meat between your palms to make 20 small meatballs, about the size of walnuts.
5. In another large skillet, heat the remaining oil. You only need a film of oil to coat the skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. Meanwhile, for the sauce, in a blender, puree the tomatoes, peppers, oil, garlic, and harissa. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by about one-third. Stir in the vinegar and season with lemon juice and salt.
7. Put the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Garnish with the feta, parsley, and mint and serve.”
The Beauty of Bread Crumbs
Okay, okay. Bread crumbs are pretty uninteresting. No. Revise that. They’re boring. But despite their dullness, they are essential. I use them all the time for panfrying, deep-frying, and coating oven-baked food.
You can either buy bread crumbs or make your own. I don’t much like the store-bought version, but I understand that sometimes you gotta “gotta do what you gotta do. Still, making them at home is easy, and when I call for “fresh” bread crumbs, you have to make them yourself. Just take a slice from a loaf of normal-size sandwich bread and rip it into large pieces. Process in a blender or food processor. Done! One slice yields about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.
If you want to make dried bread crumbs—and unless I specify “fresh,” the bread crumbs used in this book are all dried, i.e., toasted—lay slices of bread on a baking sheet and let them dry out in a 200°F oven for about an hour. Any hotter and the bread will brown—which is fine, if you want a crispier texture. Fresh bread crumbs keep in the refrigerator for three to four days and dried bread crumbs keep for about a month if refrigerated in an airtight container.
If you want panko bread crumbs, you have to buy them; you can’t make these at home. Originally imported from Japan, these fragile, pointy crumbs are especially light and crunchy when used as a coating on fried food.”
Chorizo Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Source: Graham Elliot - Cooking Like a Master Chef: 100 Recipes to Make the Everyday Extraordinary
{SERVES 6 TO 8; MAKES ABOUT 20 MEATBALLS}
CHORIZO IS SPICY AND SMOKY, two things that mankind has been drawn to for millennia. The tomato sauce isn’t too hot and tends to balance well with the natural sweetness from the tomatoes themselves, but you can add or take away some of that heat, if you prefer. Making meatballs at home is fun and a good way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. Meatballs are also a perfect way to use up any leftover trimmings you have from beef, chicken, lamb, or pork.
PREP TIME: ABOUT 20 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 40 TO 45 MINUTES
MEATBALLS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces ground pork shoulder
8 ounces lean ground beef
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, casings removed, sausage meat minced
2 large eggs
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette, cayenne pepper, or hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground sumac
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt
SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can piquillo peppers, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Fresh lemon juice
Salt
GARNISH
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1. For the meatballs, in a large skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent and softened. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. In a large bowl, mix the pork, beef, sausage, eggs, Parmesan, bread crumbs, wine, parsley, chives, piment d’Espelette, sumac, lemon zest, and a little salt. Add the cooled onion and garlic. Using your hands, work the mixture until the ingredients are well mixed. Season with salt.
4. Roll the meat between your palms to make 20 small meatballs, about the size of walnuts.
5. In another large skillet, heat the remaining oil. You only need a film of oil to coat the skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. Meanwhile, for the sauce, in a blender, puree the tomatoes, peppers, oil, garlic, and harissa. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by about one-third. Stir in the vinegar and season with lemon juice and salt.
7. Put the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Garnish with the feta, parsley, and mint and serve.”
The Beauty of Bread Crumbs
Okay, okay. Bread crumbs are pretty uninteresting. No. Revise that. They’re boring. But despite their dullness, they are essential. I use them all the time for panfrying, deep-frying, and coating oven-baked food.
You can either buy bread crumbs or make your own. I don’t much like the store-bought version, but I understand that sometimes you gotta “gotta do what you gotta do. Still, making them at home is easy, and when I call for “fresh” bread crumbs, you have to make them yourself. Just take a slice from a loaf of normal-size sandwich bread and rip it into large pieces. Process in a blender or food processor. Done! One slice yields about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.
If you want to make dried bread crumbs—and unless I specify “fresh,” the bread crumbs used in this book are all dried, i.e., toasted—lay slices of bread on a baking sheet and let them dry out in a 200°F oven for about an hour. Any hotter and the bread will brown—which is fine, if you want a crispier texture. Fresh bread crumbs keep in the refrigerator for three to four days and dried bread crumbs keep for about a month if refrigerated in an airtight container.
If you want panko bread crumbs, you have to buy them; you can’t make these at home. Originally imported from Japan, these fragile, pointy crumbs are especially light and crunchy when used as a coating on fried food.”