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Tag: Panko

Meatballs simmering in tomato sauce.

Meatballs, With Vegetable Protein and Salami — Plus a Twist

March 9, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Today is National Meatball Day, a feast day of which I was ignorant until this morning, when a friend posted a photo of meatballs and spaghetti on her Facebook page and mentioned D’Amico’s Italian Market Café, a restaurant in Houston that has served more than its share of polpette over the years.

I love to eat meatballs, and I like to make them, and have done so many times, using everything from veal to pork to shrimp to beef to ground bacon (and myriad combinations thereof). They are (most of the time) easy to prepare, and they are comforting, and they make one feel good.

My usual go-to method is one I based on Michael White‘s recipe, for Sicilian lamb meatballs. It includes pine nuts and raisins and eggs, and it is delicious. I’ve made it many times, and I’ll continue to serve this meatball dish.

Meatballs in olive oil

Last night, however, the meatballs I made — was I perhaps subconsciously aware of the impending holiday?— were composed mainly of vegetable protein from Impossible Foods, to which I added some salami and, because they were an impulse purchase, something I spied near the grocer checkout, Takis Rolled Tortilla Chips (the chili pepper and lime version). I bought a small bag, ate some — most of them — and added the rest, which I crushed coarsely — to the meatball mixture, which also included Panko, an egg, some dried herbs, salt and black pepper, and a chopped onion.

The Takis did not add anything to the meatballs, and the amount of them I used was basically minuscule. However, the rest of the ingredients combined to create a great dish.

I browned the meatballs in some olive oil, then finished them in a tomato sauce I cooked up. We served them over sautéed spinach, and they were good.

A simple meal, but one that provides profound pleasure.
It's simple to make, and it is good.

Meatballs and Cauliflower a Comforting Casserole Make

August 20, 2020 / / 2 Comments

I often share images of dishes that I make, and since early March of this year, I have been posting them on Facebook under the title Lockdown Kitchen at The Brockhaus.

Almost as often, I am asked to share recipes of the dishes, something I don’t do as often as I’d like to. Well, I am going to rectify that, beginning with this piece.

For a week or so, I have been meaning to use a cauliflower I bought about 10 days ago. I like to roast the cruciferous vegetable, and I recently sautéed some florets and served them in a pasta dish. This time, however, I did something different.

With this head of cauliflower, I made a casserole, adapted from a recipe I found in the Los Angeles Times (link here). Ben Mims wrote it, and here’s how I made the dish (feel free to use separate baking gratins if you wish):

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
salt, fresh black pepper
1 pound ground beef (or lamb, pork, or a mixture of the three)
1 medium white onion, chopped
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons EVOO
1.5 cups whole milk (or preferably, 2 cups heavy cream)
3 cups cheese
red chili flakes to taste (optional)

  • Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim the head of cauliflower and separate it into bite-size florets (wash them before cooking, of course). Put one cup of water in a large skillet over medium heat, season with salt and pepper, and add florets. Cover and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, uncover and stir. Cook for 4 minutes more.
  • Place florets in large baking dish. In same skillet, sautée onion in olive oil until soft. Add onions to cauliflower in baking dish.
  • Using your fingers, separate beef — 80 lean/20 fat — (I’m going to use lamb next time, and pork would work as well) into small pieces — think the size of a dime — and then spread Dijon mustard over the beef. Add some some salt and pepper, and if you want to replicate my recipe, squirt a tablespoon or two of Sriracha over the mixture. You might also throw in some diced peppers (Serrano, jalapeño … or). Mix well, but do not overheat your meat. (Here is where I added the chili flakes.)
Beef, Dijon mustard, Sriracha sauce, and salt and pepper
  • Make meatballs. I followed Mims’ recipe and rolled walnut-size meatballs. Arrange them on top of the cauliflower florets.
  • I was out of cream, so I used whole milk in this step. Poured about 1.5 cups over the meatballs and cauliflower. I would have preferred cream, or at least half-and-half. However, the results were more than satisfactory using milk.
Comfort food
  • I had Cheddar and mozzarella on hand, so that’s what I used. Mims calls for 3 cups, and I concur. But you can add more if you wish. Never less. I grated the Cheddar over the top of the mixture, and tore the mozzarella into small pieces and distributed them evenly in the baking dish.
  • Put dish into the 450F oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add about 2 .5 cups of Panko breadcrumbs to the oil, and stir well. Cook until toasted. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Remove dish from oven, spread Panko over the top of the cauliflower and meatballs in an even layer, and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the top is browned and crisp.
  • Remove your dinner from the oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
It is done …
A Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA was a great pairing.

I served this in bowls with a handful of baby arugula nestled on top. We drank a Pinot Noir (a 2017 from Alma Rosa) with it. The evening was a good one.

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