Writer's Block: Maybe it's meatballs
By Jo Elwin
My partner and I used to have a regular lunch date at The Grille in Queenstown – whitebait and fries for him, crayfish meatballs for me – I was devastated when chef Will Eaglesfield took the meatballs off the menu. Will served them with a very tasty tomato saffron broth and fettuccine and it was just right – not too heavy, not too light. I’ve also had my share of Big Fig’s beef and lamb meatballs in sweet spicy tomato sauce, and tahr meatballs at Arrowtown’s Aosta too. The meatball sub at Alexandra’s La Bella Vita at Shaky Bridge went down well for lunch with a cold beer on a hot day. [Unfortunately La Bella Vita is no longer operating.]
I guess I like meatballs, as do many of you, but we won’t be dining out on them for a while so let’s get cooking. They make a particularly good lockdown meal because you can build a meatball from any meat you have to hand – you can mince pieces of meat as they used to, by very finely slicing and chopping with a sharp knife or cleaver or using a food processor (freeze cubes of meat for 20-30 minutes, until just freezing around the edges first). Use a combination of meats and add flavours that work for you and serve them with what works for you – on spaghetti, sure, baking them with penne works too. On a pool of cheesy polenta, a mound of mashed potato, roasted in the oven with mixed vegetables, in a soupy broth, skewered and barbecued, in pita pockets, or bread rolls (meatball subs for lunch it is). With sauce, without sauce. Go Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Swedish, Asian … Make them big, make them small, just make them.
I think the original recipe for these chicken meatballs might have come from Catherine Bell, the Chair of New Zealand’s Garden to Table Trust, a very long time ago and I think they are very appropriate today as we strive to cut back on our meat consumption. I like that there are some greens going in and it’s a cracking-good tomato sauce – the whisky (or brandy as it was in the original recipe) cooks out so the littlies should cope.
Chicken and rocket meatballs with whisky sauce
Serves 4
Olive oil
2-3 rashers bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
150g rocket, finely chopped
450g chicken mince
½ cup grated parmesan or pecorino, plus more to serve
2 Tbsp capers, chopped
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sauce
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 Tbsp butter
¼ cup whisky, (brandy or cognac)
1kg canned chopped tomatoes
1 Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and cook bacon until crisp. Stir in the garlic and rocket and stir until rocket has wilted. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
2 Place the chicken mince, parmesan, capers, breadcrumbs and egg in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooled rocket mixture and combine well.
3 Shape into 2cm-sized balls.
4 Heat enough oil to cover the base or a large frying pan. Add enough meatballs to not crowd the pan and cook over a medium heat until brown all over. Transfer to a plate and continue with remaining meatballs.
5 Wipe out the frying pan and place over a medium heat. Cook the shallot in butter until soft. Add the whisky, raise the heat and cook until evaporated. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook about 8 minutes until the sauce is thick.
6 Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until heated through.
7 Serve with whatever you love best, but always with extra grated parmesan. I tossed through some courgette ribbons in the meal photographed above - the more greens the better.