Fennel & Chilli Meatballs
The word ‘meatball’ has always tickled me. So literal, it’s as if it were translated from German. Beyond the name, I love meatballs themselves. Rich, filling, and versatile. I make them in big batches and freeze them. Their small size means they defrost quickly, and I like knowing that I always have the makings of a hearty dinner in the house.
Opinion time -frying meatballs is totally unnecessary. Most recipes call for this step and it bothers me. First of all, I don’t cut corners for the sake of it, but if there is a shortcut that won’t affect the result, I take it. If meatballs are flavoursome enough -which, to me, these are - they do not need the extra richness achieved by frying. Second - your meatballs are more likely to be, well, balls, if they are not fried in a pan, which always squashes them. Third -this has nothing to do with weight loss, but I did train as a nutrition coach and I feel that when it comes to calorie dense food, if you don’t sacrifice flavour by making something in a ‘lighter’ way, you should go with the lighter method. Just saying! Fourth and finally, it makes cleaning your kitchen easier. No grease splattered on the walls. So I skip the frying, and cook mine by, for want of a better word, poaching them in sauce. Bring a pot of your favourite pasta sauce to a simmer, drop the balls in, spoon some sauce on top, clamp on a lid and leave until cooked through. Then serve with pasta or polenta.
Anything with fennel makes me weak at the knees, and fennel and chilli belong together. A salty-sweet power couple. I go hard on the spice, because once they are served with a starchy carb and some cheese on top, you have a perfectly balanced bite. And your onions and garlic must be veeerrrry finely diced or you get annoying chunks - blitz them in a food processor, or grate them on a box grater.
Makes 35 meatballs
Ingredients
a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, grated or pulsed in a food processor
2 cloves garlic, minced or pulsed in the processor with the onion
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, freshly ground in a pestle and mortar
1 tablespoon chilli flakes, grind them in the pestle and mortar with the fennel (use less if you don’t like spice)
20g panko breadcrumbs
50g finely grated parmesan
2 eggs
1 tsp fine salt
500g minced beef
500g minced pork (or use another 500g of minced beef)
To serve:
really good pasta sauce
pasta or polenta
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until darkened and sticky, about 7-8 minutes.
Add the ground fennel and chilli and cook for a further minute, just until fragrant. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool a little bit.
Once it’s not piping hot, add the panko, parmesan, eggs, and salt, and stir until the eggs are fully incorporated. Let sit for about 10 minutes - this will yield a more tender result than if you charge straight on.
Finally add the meat and combine using either a fork or clean hands. Do your best to mix it thoroughly but gently, you want the seasoning to distribute evenly throughout the meat but if you overmix it you could get tough meatballs.
If in doubt, fry off a little bit of the mixture at this stage to check that the seasoning is to your liking.
Shape into meatballs. I have a small ice-cream scoop I use that forms balls slightly larger than golf balls, and from this mixture I get 35.
Either use them right away, or freeze for later use. To freeze, place them on parchment-lined baking trays and into the freezer. Once frozen solid, place into airtight bags.
If cooking right away, bring some very nice pasta sauce to a simmer, and then drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce. I usually serve 4 per portion. Spoon some over the top to ensure they cook evenly and absorb maximum flavour. Clamp a lid on the pot and cook for about 5 minutes. The balls should feel firm once cooked through, if in doubt, slice one open. Serve with pasta or polenta.
