There is much happiness to be had from a plate of meatballs, a long-simmered sauce and a mound of fluffy mash. We need to rest homemade meatballs in the fridge before we attempt to cook them, as we should rissoles, patties and other little cakes that seem destined to fall apart in the pan. And once they are in the pan, which should be hot and shallow and with enough patina to prevent anything sticking, it is best not to tinker, prod and poke.
Leave them be, sizzling merrily, giving them time to form the essential sticky crust that will help them hold together. Then, as you turn them to brown the other side, hold the cake in place on the palette knife with your finger and flip them over quickly before they have time to even consider falling apart.
The alternative is to introduce a binder, such as beaten egg yolk, to hold the minced meat or fish together, but that is too often detectable in the finished dish, so a good half-hour’s rest in the fridge and a small amount of care is probably a better idea. I mention this only because it is a question I am often asked as someone surveys the neatly formed meatball that has just collapsed into mince before their eyes. It is often a sign that the mince was too coarse – but is better than the sort of meatball you could throw at a wall.
Test the consistency of the mixture by squeezing a lump of meat and aromatics together in your hand and rolling it into a ball. It should just hold together when you put it on the table. If it doesn’t, you need a finer mince. I made two sets of meatballs this week, one a slow-braised pork recipe and another, more spring-like version with the sour notes of sumac and the warmth of ground coriander.
Braised pork meatballs with rib ragu sauce
Use any leftover sauce for pasta the next day.
Serves 4
olive oil 3 tbsp
small pork ribs (baby back) 6
onions 450g
carrots 450g
celery 200g
garlic 2 cloves
thyme 8 sprigs
chestnut mushrooms 300g
flour 3 tbsp
chicken stock 1.5 litres
smoked streaky bacon 400g
minced pork 900g
Warm the olive oil in a large, deep casserole, add the pork ribs and brown them on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside. Peel, halve and roughly chop the onions. Scrub the carrots, cut into small dice then add to the onions. Chop the celery into similar-sized pieces. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pull the leaves from the thyme sprigs and chop. Add the vegetables to the pan, stir in half the thyme and cook for about 15 minutes over a moderate heat, stirring in any meat juices from the ribs as you go. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Finely slice the mushrooms, add to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the flour, stir and let it cook for a couple of minutes then pour in the stock and season with salt and black pepper. When the sauce has come to the boil, return the ribs to the pan, cover with a lid and place in the oven. Leave for an hour, stirring occasionally.
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry till crisp. Add the minced pork to the reserved thyme then add the bacon and season. Combine the ingredients and roll into eight large balls, flattening the top. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. Warm a little oil in the pan in which you cooked the bacon and lightly brown the balls.
Remove the sauce from the oven and pull the ribs to pieces with a couple of forks. They should be tender enough to pull apart easily. Lower the browned meatballs into the sauce, cover and return to the oven for 35 minutes. Serve the meatballs with copious amounts of the sauce and, if you like, mashed swede, parsnip or potato.
Lamb meatballs with sumac and broccoli
You can buy sour sumac in all Middle Eastern grocers and most large supermarkets.
Serves 4
shallots 2, medium sized
garlic 2 cloves
olive oil 4 tbsp
parsley 20g
leaves 2 tbsp, leaves
sumac 2-3 tsp, ground
lamb 400g, minced
For the sauce:
onions 2, medium
groundnut or olive oil 3 tbsp
coriander 2 tsp, ground
turmeric 1 tsp
broccoli 350g
crème fraîche 200g
Peel and finely chop the shallots. Peel and crush the garlic. Warm the oil in a pan, add the shallots and garlic then cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Chop the parsley, then stir into the shallots with the thyme leaves and sumac. Remove from the heat, add the lamb and season. You may find it easiest to use your hands. Roll into 12 small balls then flatten the top. Refrigerate for an hour.
Make the sauce. Peel the onions, roughly chop and cook them in the oil over a moderate heat until translucent. Stir in the coriander, turmeric and a little salt and cook for 2 minutes, until the onions are pale gold. Cut the broccoli into short lengths, then add to the onions with 100ml of boiling water. Cover and cook for 4 or 5 minutes until the broccoli is bright green.
Meanwhile fry the meatballs in a little oil over a high heat until golden brown and lightly pink in the middle. Stir the crème fraîche into the broccoli, and warm thoroughly before spooning on to plates and adding meatballs. Scatter over a little finely ground sumac if you wish.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
