Putting the Bounty By Whilst Eating Meatballs from Around the World

Okay, a strange name for the title of this blog, I know. But I wanted to get started on the subject of canning just because the season is upon us and my mind is going to the empty jars downstairs, how many lids I'll need to get, whether or not I need more pint and 1/2 pint jars and a Christmas many years ago when a box arrived with a hole in it. HUH?????
Shortly after we moved to San Francisco, I was inspired by my sister's preserving techniques and dove into the wonderful world of canning. In addition to the fresh and inexpensive produce available at the farmer's market and the ethnic markets in "The City," I discovered a source of fresh and free wild black berries a short distance away at Golden Gate Park. They all found their ways into buckets, pots and, finally, jars before being put away in the pantry in the back of our apartment in the old building we lived in a few blocks away from the Pan Handle. Everything I needed to make this wonderful culinary magic lay in the pages of The Ball Blue Book, a thin, over sized paperback and all I needed to create these wonders.....or so I thought.

Back when we were living in San Francisco, it seems that boxes going out and coming in during the Christmas season were mammoth. (Taking them to the post office was certainly a mammoth task!) One such huge box , sent from my sister and her partner, arrived at our place with a hole in it. There seemed to be more than enough gifts inside but still I thought I would call after Christmas Day to double check. Yes, Jim had gotten his socks and the newest Anne Rice book.
Yes, pink flamingo salt and peppers shakers had arrived all in one piece and were in a place of honor in the kitchen.
And so it went on until I was questioned about the canning book. "Doing what to food," I asked. No, it hadn't arrived. It must have escaped through the hole. But that was okay, enough other wonderful things had made for a fun Christmas as always. No, it wasn't good enough. I had to have that book, my sister told me.
Several weeks later, a large envelope arrived with a book titled Putting Food By inside. It turned out to be more than just a canning book. It was (is) the quintessential book on food preservation. It goes from canning, to smoking to building your own root cellar. Yes, more than I'll ever need to know about preserving the bounty but by no means more than I want to know.
I'll be talking about the book later on this summer when we get into some canning recipes. But for the time, I'll return to the subject meatballs.

I was particularly attracted to this recipe because of the two main ingredients: Pork and shrimp, two ingredients also found in Shoa Mai one of my favorite items on the board in the dim sum shops that I invariably have to visit when I'm in San Francisco.

Filipino Meatball Soup
(Almondigas)

For the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup onion, chopped
Large pinch salt
Several grindings of fresh black pepper

For the soup:
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon fish sauce*
Several grindings of fresh black pepper
2 ounces Filipino noodles (misua) or angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Form into walnut-sized meat balls and set aside.
In a saucepan, saute' garlic and onions in the oil until translucent. Add chicken broth, fish sauce and pepper. Bring to boil and add salt if needed.
Reduce to a simmer, gently add meatballs, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add noodles and continue cooking until tender, about 1-2 minutes.
Garnish with green onions and serve.
* Fish sauce is an Asian ingredient that may be found in the ethnic section of your grocery store or in many Asian food markets. It's very often used in the cooking of Southeast Asia.

The next recipe comes from a friend in the DC area and is also a Forum member at the Jamie Oliver site. She has been fortunate enough to have traveled the far corners of the world and experienced the cuisine of a good many countries. She shared this Moroccan recipe for which she suggests making the tomato sauce first.



Tagine de Boulettes a la Tomate‏

600 gr. (bit more than a pound) ground meat (lamb or beef)
1 onion, finely diced
few branches of cilantro
few leaves of mint
few leaves of marjoram
1 small bouquet of parsley
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. raz al hanout*
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 t. salt
Wash and dry the fresh herbs, chop in mini prep or by hand. Mix meat and remaining ingredients. Form into mini balls and drop into simmering salted water as you form them. Cook each about a minute and place them in simmering tomato sauce as you remove them from the water. Cook 40 minutes in the tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1 kilo tomatoes (you can use canned), peeled, seeded and chopped
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
few branches of flat leaf parsley
few branches of cilantro
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add chopped tomatoes, herbs and spices. Simmer while you form and cook meatballs.

*Raz el Hanout is a spice blend. Look for this in middle eastern markets or make your own using this recipe:
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads

Combine all ingredients and store in a glass jar in a cool dry place.

Another Asian meatball recipe comes from another Jamie Oliver forum member. She offers this recipe for Indonesian meatballs and suggest the dipping sauce of your choice for them to be served with at room temperature. (Note her unique method of shaping!)

Bakso sapi Indonesian (beef balls)

1 lbs lean beef, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp tapioca starch (or corn starch)
1 tsp fried shallots
1/2 tsp fried garlic
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp iced water or shaved ice
1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Method:

Grind all of the ingredients except ice water in a food processor or hand crank meat grinder into a smooth paste. Pulse more to make it smoother paste. I use mortar and pestle, to make a very smooth and stiff paste. Transfer to a bowl, add iced water, mix it well, cover and refrigerate it a least 6 hours. Longer is better. Cold dough will produce springy and bouncy tasty meat balls. Before shaping meat balls, transfer the paste into freezer for about 1 hour.

Heat water in the pot. When it reach boiling point, lower the heat. The water should be hot enough to cook the meat balls but not bubbling.

Meanwhile, rub little bit vegetable oil in one of your hand, and get a handful of the meat paste and close your hand into a fist. Squeeze out a small portion of the meat paste (1 teaspoon), between index finger and thumb, to make a smooth rounded ball shaped dough. Scoop out the meat balls dough with an oiled/watered spoon and put it in boiling water (not bubbling). When the meat balls float and cooked through, drain and put it in cold/iced water. At this stage, bakso is ready to eat. Freeze it for future consumption.

The end of the show found us back in Italy where we made vegetarian "meatballs" using eggplant. These are delicate and tender. Different from the meat version but every bit as good.
They are pictured in the beginning of this blog.

Eggplant Polpette

For the sauce:
28 oz can tomatoes
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of chili pepper flakes (or 1/2 dried Calabrian chili, chopped)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste

Either pass tomatoes through a food mill or chop them up adding them to a pot along with the other ingredients. Heat to simmer and simmer slowly for about 25 minutes. Remove the garlic and set the sauce aside.

For the Polpette:
2 medium eggplants
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs, toasted
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
several grindings of black pepper
Pinch of salt
Plain flour
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400F.
Place eggplants on rack in middle of oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick easily pierces the skin.
Remove to a plate to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, cut off tops, peel, cut into large pieces and place in colander to drain for about 20 minutes or until most the the liquid has drained off.
Chop into small pieces and combine with garlic, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper.

Put flour on a plate for dredging. With a serving spoon, scoop out some of the mixture, flatten it into a small patty and place it in the flour on the plate. Top the patty with more flour and gently take it off the plate and place it in the palm of one hand. Turn hand over releasing the patty into the palm of the next hand. Repeat this several times to firm up the patty and to knock off the extra flour.

Heat some of the oil in a skillet, fry patties for a few minutes on both sides until a crust forms. You will have to do this in several batches stopping to drain off the blacked oil once or twice and wipe clean with a paper towel.

Reheat the sauce to simmering and simmer the polpette for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with grated cheese. Any extra sauce may be served over pasta.