Meatballs in Beef Broth and Vewgwetables

Veal Meatballs with Braised Vegetables

March 31, 2006

Veal Meatballs with Braised Vegetables Romulo Yanes

We've lightened traditional meatballs with veal and added Mediterranean accents to achieve a bright, springtime flavor. Chicken broth and matzo meal take the place of milk and bread crumbs to keep the meatballs exceptionally tender.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (20 fl oz)

1/3 cup matzo meal

7 oz brine-cured green olives (1 cup medium), pitted

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 lb ground veal

5 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for greasing pan

2 medium fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise; 2 lb total), stalks cut off and discarded and bulbs halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices

1 lb carrots (6 medium), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon water

2 1/4 teaspoons potato starch

Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Step 1

Heat 1/2 cup broth until warm, then add matzo meal and soak 10 minutes.

Step 2

While matzo soaks, chop enough olives to measure 1/3 cup, then quarter remainder and set aside. Pulse soaked matzo and chopped olives in a food processor along with garlic, egg, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until olives and garlic are finely chopped and egg is incorporated. Add 1/4 cup parsley and pulse until parsley is finely chopped.

Step 3

Transfer matzo mixture to a bowl and add veal, mixing gently with your hands until combined. Chill, covered, 30 minutes.

Step 4

Preheat broiler. Line a 15- by 10-inch shallow baking pan or baking sheet with foil, and brush foil with oil. Using wet hands, form veal mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls, arranging in 1 layer as formed in baking pan.

Step 5

Broil meatballs 4 to 6 inches from heat, turning once with a spatula and tongs, until browned, about 10 minutes total.

Step 6

While meatballs are broiling, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (2 to 3 inches deep) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown fennel in 2 batches, turning occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate, then brown carrots in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 7

Return fennel to skillet and add meatballs, remaining 2 cups chicken broth, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Step 8

Whisk together water and potato starch in a small bowl. Stir into meatball mixture and boil, uncovered, until sauce is thickened slightly, about 2 minutes (sauce will continue to thicken off the heat). Remove from heat and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and quartered olives. Season with salt.

How would you rate Veal Meatballs with Braised Vegetables?

Reviews (13)

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• I ALWAYS read the reviews before I make any new recipes. You learn a lot. I love this concept of veal meatballs,but I didn't have matzo meal, so I used Panko. Works for me. I didn't broil the meatballs,but sautéed them in a pan with olive oil, browning all the sides as you go. No sticking to the pan or falling apart. Is that so wrong? OY!

• Quick and Easy?!?! NOT!!!! It took me 2 hrs to make and was very time consuming, though my husband said it was the best meal he's had!!! So, very tatsy but carve out the time necessary. To those who had a hard time keeping the meatballs together: lift the rack in the oven to ensure they get get totally BROWN, use tongs but scrape the bottoms off the sheet before turning, and remove them from the pan at the very end when you add the starch. They stayed intact for me.

• NOM NOM NOM so good, really different from traditional Italian meatballs. I've used cornstarch in place of the potato starch with no trouble. The sweetness of the carrots, with the grainy matzo, tart olives, and distinctive fennel is so good.

• An intriguing recipe but poorly written as it never tells you what to do with the chopped olives, garlic, egg mixture. I opted to add it to the meat mix and it came out wonderfully. The potato starch is overkill and as I served this dish with whole wheat pasta and a simple tomato sauce there was enough sauce to go around.

• Made the recipe this evening and it was GREAT! I followed it to the letter and was very happy - the lemon juice from the wedges gave it a nice pop.

• Check the link below and watch the video: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/Dairy/Dairy_expose.html

• I didn't soak the matzo meal, just added it dry to the other meatball ingredients, as my mother taught me. Then I microwaved the meatballs for about 5 minutes rather than broiling them. They came out firm & light & didn't break up. But my family & I agreed the braising liquid was rather bland & needed something to give it some oomph. Don't know what, & I doubt I'll make this again to try to find out.

• A keeper. We're not Jewish so I used bread crumbs instead of matzo and used 2 eggs instead of one. These meatballs were perfect as such so I am not sure why all the problems in other reviews. The fennel and carrots made the sauce delicious and everyone loved it, even the kids. I served it over Israeli couscous for a wonderful dinner.

• Thanks for the tips. I'll make a note for next year. As for why there is no milk, it wouldn't be kosher then. Hardly appropriate to have a Passover recipe that went against the basic dietary tenets that prohibit mixing meat with dairy.

• To keep the meatballs in tact, try reducing the liquid, using only enough to moisten the matzo and use two eggs instead of one. I'm not sure why milk is left out; veal is light enough. Finally, eliminate the broiling and simply poach the meatballs in the broth. They should hold.

• Like Ms Lunatic, I thought the dish tasted great and has potential, if only someone could figure out how to keep the meatballs from falling apart. As I tenderly lifted them from the baking sheet and placed them into the skillet for the final braising-with-vegetables step, I knew they would never hold up. And they didn't last very long at all, especially you add the olives and parsley toward the end and then thicken the whole thing. This requires stirring and your meatballs will turn into browned ground veal with carrots and fennel. Not bad though and will definitely make again another Passover. BTW, I followed the directions exactly, made no changes, though there was a ton of prep work, maybe too much to justify this dish's structural issues.

• I followed the recipe exactly but the mixture was very loose. When I broiled the meatballs they crumbled. Somehow the matzo meal didn't seem to have the same effect that bread crumbs do. Anyway, we made it and called it veal stew and everyone loved the flavor.

• Excellent meatballs ! What a great change from the same ol' meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Mushroom Sauce. They are light as a feather & pretty, too. Did not have Matzoh Meal but had great success with plain, dry breadcrumbs.

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

• The Best Kosher Wines

  Celebrate Passover with six delicious reds and whites

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Source: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/veal-meatballs-with-braised-vegetables-234267

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