I arrived a little early to a Share Our Strength benefit a few weeks back, and having missed lunch that day, was starving. Luckily the event was being held at the fabulous Lincoln Tavern and Restaurant in South Boston so there was plenty of good food on offer. I grabbed a seat at the bar, ordered an IPA and one of their more popular bar appetizers, meatballs over creamy polenta.
In short order I was a very happy guy.
The event, a "Food Fight" between two of Cambridge's top culinary talents, the chefs at West Bridge and Hungry Mother , was a terrific success. The head to head competition called for each team to craft a Southeast Asian Street Food dish with the attendees choosing a winner at the end of the night. Both teams brought their A-game and the food was superb, as was all the additional passed treats and wood-fired pizza provided by the gang at Lincoln Tavern. In the end the Hungry Mother posse took top honors, though I must say the real winners were us lucky attendees who noshed on awesome food all night, and of course the hungry kids who benefit from the generosity of all who attended the event and the great work that Share Our Strength does to eradicate childhood hunger in the US.
The Food Fight was the first of 4 planned events at The Lincoln Tavern, if you're interested in joining in the fun tickets to future events can be found here. If you go, look for me, I'll be at ALL of them.
So……let's talk meatballs. I was so jazzed about the little dish I had at the bar that night that I knew I wanted to craft my own version soon. As luck would have it I had recently seen a recipe for The Meatball Shop's Classic Beef Meatballs that I decided to pair with my own quick tomato sauce and cheesy polenta. Happy….Happy.
Unlike most beef meatballs that tend to be tough and rather bland, these ethereal little orbs are nothing of the sort. The addition of ricotta keeps them tender and juicy, while the parsley, fennel seed, and oregano infuse them with tons of flavor. Eaten plain, straight from the oven or dressed up in your favorite tomato sauce, these balls will be a hit with the whole family!
Cheers – Steve
Classic Meatballs on Cheesy Polenta
Ingredients
for the meatballs:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds 80% lean ground beef
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
for the tomato sauce:
- 2 tablespoons EVOO
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
for the polenta:
- 1 cup corn meal
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 cup grated cheese of your choice (we used fontina)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
for the meatballs:
- Heat the oven to 450℉. Drizzle the oil into a 9 x 13" baking dish and rub to coat the entire surface.
- Combine the ground beef, ricotta, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and fennel in a large bowl and mix with your hands until everything is entirely incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round 1 1/2 - 2" round, golf-ball sized meatballs (a #24 cookie scoop works perfectly for measuring this amount if you happen to have one handy). Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
- Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. When they are fully cooked remove them from the oven and drain any excess grease from the dish. Reserve, and keep the oven on.
for the tomato sauce:
- While the meatballs are roasting, heat the EVOO in a wide skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes (be careful it might splatter), the tomato paste, and the herbs. Stir well, lower the heat to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring frequently until slightly reduced, about 20 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs, rolling them to coat them entirely, then pop them back into the oven for 15-20 minutes. remove and keep warm.
for the polenta:
- While the meatballs are enjoying their second roast, put the water for the polenta on the boil.
- With the water boiling, slowly add the polenta to the pot in a steady stream whisking all the while to avoid any lumps forming. Once all the corn meal is in the pot, lower the heat to a gentle boil and continue to cook, stirring frequently until cooked through, roughly 15-20 minutes.
- Put the heat to as low a setting as you can manage, then toss in the butter and cheese and stir until melted. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary.
- Spoon immediately into warmed bowls, top with meatballs and sauce and serve up with a fresh green salad and a loaf of rustic bread.