Beef Meatballs With Tomato, Garlic & Mint And Artichokes
Ingredients
Scale
- FOR THE MEATBALLS
- Ground Beef – 1 lb
- Onions – 1, finely diced (reserve half for making braising stock)
- Carrots – 1, finely diced
- Garlic – finely diced 4 cloves- (a sprig of green garlic would be great here!)
- Breadcrumbs – 1/2 cup
- Thyme, Rosemary and Parsley – 1 TBS of each, chopped
- Olive Oil – a glug to cover the bottom of your pan in a thin layer
- Salt and Pepper – to taste
- Egg – 1
- FOR THE SAUCE
- The remainder of your diced onions
- Tomatoes – 2 rough chopped or half can of diced tomatoes
- Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
- White Wine, stock, or water – 1 cup
- Mint – 1 TBS, chopped
- ARTICHOKES
- Your portion of globe artichokes or baby artichokes
- 1 lemon
- handful of salt
Instructions
- Meatballs: Saute the carrots, onions and garlic in 1-2 TBS of olive oil until tender (start with the carrots, then add the onions). Add the bread crumbs. Set aside and let cool. Mix in the chopped herbs. Mix in the breadcrumbs, egg and beef, let rest in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Form into meatballs about the size of a walnut, return to the refrigerator while you make braising stock.
- Braising stock: Saute 1/2 cup diced onions in olive oil, add 2 chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 cup of white wine or water, salt and pepper. Set aside. Whip out the skillet.
- Heat a thin layer of olive oil in the skillet, when oil is shimmery and hot, carefully add the meatballs one at a time, gently shaking the pan. Continue to cook, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent sticking. When they are nicely browned, pour off the cooking fat and add the cooked onion/tomato mixture to the meatballs. Sprinkle on the mint. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Adjust the sauce and serve with a plain rice or dried pasta, and steamed artichokes.
- Artichokes: Keep it simple. Cut off 1 inch of the stem, and carefully cut the artichoke in half. Use a paring knife or spoon to cut out the hairy/spiky choke in the center. Use a large knife or kitchen shears to cut off 1 inch of the leaves of the artichoke, opposite the stem end. Place into a pot of cold water. Repeat with all of your artichokes. Gently squeeze 1/2 a lemon into the pot, then drop the whole thing in. Add a handful of salt, about a TBS. Bring the pot of water to a simmer on the stove and cook for about 6-7 minutes or until a knife slides into the thickest part easily. Drain and serve!
Notes
- Not Included in Large Real Food Boxes: Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, White Wine, Bread Crumbs
- Chef Tip: An easy dipping sauce for the artichokes is 2 TBS of mayonnaise mixed with the juice of 1 lemon, 1 garlic clove mashed to a paste, and salt and pepper.