Juicy Meatballs with vegetables in tomatoes sauce

A few days ago, I made a wonderful meat stock, using some lean beef and veal, one carrot and a stick of celery. Delicious! The dinner was simply a good cup of warm stock, some meat (still warm, soft and yummy) and mixed vegetables. I usually eat the meat leftover cold in a salad, or for a pasta sauce (https://www.tittifood.com/post/pasta-meat-and-vegs).

This time I decide to change things a bit: meatballs!!! Who doesn’t like meatballs? I added in the recipe some vegetables to make easier the daily vegetables intake and to help soften the meat mix.

This is also a good way to “hide” vegetables (from kids and grown-ups😉): the final flavour is quite meaty, and if you don’t say anything, there is a good chance nobody will notice them (apart from the peas, which can be blended with the other vegetables if your guests are not very vegetables-friendly).

I used some fennel and asparagus “waste”: the hardest bit of asparagus and the external part of a fennel. These are usually not good to be eaten in a salad and they also take longer to cook. Instead of throwing them away, I normally chop them and put in the freezer for the next vegetables soup. Not today!

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Ingredients:

500 gr boiled meat (300 gr lean beef – 200 gr veal)

4 cherry tomatoes

250 gr stewed asparagus and fennel

1 clove of garlic, pinch of salt

15 gr breadcrumbs

1 egg

180 gr frozen peas

20 gr grated parmesan

1 tablespoon English mustard

Coating:

3 tablespoons quinoa flakes

3 tablespoons whole wheat spelt flakes

3 tablespoons oat

3 teaspoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 teaspoons poppy seeds

Tomatoes sauce:

1 big onion chopped

2 diced carrots

1 stick of diced celery

300 gr diced tomatoes can

300 gr tomatoes salsa

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 bay leave, pinch of salt

Coating: blend all the ingredients but the poppy seeds: add them at the end.

Meatballs: In a not-sticky pan stew the asparagus and fennel with a clove of garlic (crushed), pinch of salt and a bit of water for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, blend the meat and put in a big bowl. Remove the excess of water (if present) from the mix of fennel and asparagus and blend them with the cherry tomatoes. Add the mix to the mix with the English mustard and parmesan. Gently mix. Add then the breadcrumbs and the egg. Lastly add the thawed peas.

With help of a couple of spoons (in this way you can take roughly the same amount of mix) make the meatballs. Roll them in the coating mix and put on a tray. I made 38 meatballs.

For best results, let them res in the fridge for at least an hour (even overnight is good!).

The meatballs won’t need to cook for long time, apart from the egg and peas, everything is already cooked. For a golden crispy coat, heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a no-sticky pan and seared the meatballs on each side for a couple of minutes. Now, they are ready to meet the tomatoes sauce.

Tomato sauce: in a large no-sticky pan add the oil and the vegetables. Cook them on gentle heat for about 15 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, the bay leave, and pinch of salt. Cook on gentle heat and with the lid on; for best results, cook at least 3 hours. This will intensify and blend all the flavours, which is the best for a tomatoes sauce.

The meatballs are basically cooked, and they need to be heated in the tomatoes sauce to allow all the flavours blending.

I made 38 meatballs: I took 5 and a bit of tomatoes sauce and put in a small Tupperware, it is going to be part of a lunch box, for now it will rest in the freezer. I divided the remaining meatballs and sauce in half. One half will rest in the freezer for another meal, and one half for now!

For completing the meal, add 50 gr of beans and 30 gr of mixed quinoa in the pan with sauce and meatballs, and let the ingredients blend on gentle heat for 5-6 minutes. I served with a generous portion of cabbage salad (dressing: salt, lemon juice and a tbsp extra-virgin olive oil), a thin slice of oat sourdough bread (https://www.tittifood.com/post/1-oat-sourdough-mixture-for-2-sourdough-pizza-and-bread) and a glass of red wine!