Meatballs in Polenta
Serves 4
Meatballs are a great addition to your culinary tool belt that provides versatility and ease while packing in flavor and creativity. Your ability to choose the meat (beef, pork, chicken, duck, veal) or meats, the seasonings and cooking styles (fried, baked, braised) makes your creativity the only obstacle.
On top of that, you can make them ahead and freeze them raw or par-cooked to have at the ready any time. And if you cook too many, meatballs can get eaten quickly as left overs either in a salad, omelette or in a sandwich.
Here I do a gluten-free meatball. Sitting in a bed of cheesy, creamy polenta with a simple tomato sauce, these meatballs turned out juicy and flavorful. For ease of time and cleaning, I baked a sheet tray of them rather than frying in batches, but they also missed out on the crispy shell that so many look forward to. Your choice!
Polenta is one of the easiest grains to prepare and allows for a number of cooking choices and is a great alternative to pasta. You can make it with just water, water and milk, cheese or no cheese, butter or no butter, etc. Play around with flavors and what you have on hand. I used only water and stirred in a cup of aged Parmigiano Reggiano. Enjoy!
Pair with...
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef ( I get about 15 meatballs per pound of meat)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 egg
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Tomato Sauce
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil
Polenta
3 cups water (or broth)
1 cup cornmeal (polenta)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
In a sauce pan, cook the onion in 2 tablespoons oil for 10 min. Add garlic and cook another 2 min.
Add the tomatoes and salt.
Simmer until ready.
Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
Mix the meatball ingredients in a bowl until full incorporated.
Using a small scoop or your hands, form into 1-inch balls and place on a sheet tray lined with foil.
Cook 12-15 min.
While meatballs are cooking, bring water to a boil.
Whisk in cornmeal, stirring constantly until clumps break up.
Continue stirring occasionally over low heat until water is absorbed and polenta thickens.
Stir in cheese and salt.
Spoon in polenta into bowl. Arrange meatballs over polenta and add tomato sauce. Garnish with more cheese. Serve.
Chris Chisholm is a Certified Specialist of Wine and a graduate of Boston University Wine Studies and Wine Making programs. He is also a graduate of Cook Street School of Culinary Arts in Denver, CO. He has worked as a personal chef and chef instructor.
If you have any questions, email Chris at chris@snugharborwine.com. You can also follow Chris on Instagram @winechefchris for more delicious food photos!