Meataballas

Dinner on Saturday didn’t exactly go as planned.  I felt quite smug in the morning, having planned a week’s worth of versatile and healthy suppers.

But I forgot to buy more of one vital ingredient – garlic!

This is the culinary equivalent of cutting of a cook’s left arm. Garlic is the savoury, sweet base to so many foods that to be without it is to have no soul in your cooking – there will always be something missing.

Saturday's delight was supposed to be light meatballs in a smoky tomato and chipotle sauce, but without my pal garlic I didn’t have the heart to prepare a tomato sauce.

However I did have to do something with the meat (prime steak mince) so I decided to take my meatballs down a Scandinavian/Italian route.

I started off by making some herby Italianate meatballs (minus the lemon zest and chilli I normally add to them) and whipped up a Scandi-style gravy, a bit like the sauce that would usually accompany Swedish meatballs.

Served with white rice and a bowl of peas, this ended-up be really quite nice. But I am still hampering for that garlicky, smoky chilli and tomato sauce. Perhaps it will appear later in the week.



Scandi/Italian meatballs

500g steak mince (or the best mince you can afford)

1tsp fresh thyme and oregano (or ½ tsp each dried)

A handful of grated cheese

1/2tsp allspice

1/2tsp salt

A few grinds of black pepper

1/4tsp cayenne pepper

2 slices of brown bread

50ml single cream

Do it: Place all of the ingredients in a blender and mix to a thick paste. Put 2tsbps of oil into a large frying pan and gently saute the meatballs until coloured all over. Place the browned meatballs in a roasting tin and place in the oven at 220c for 15 minutes until cooked through.

Gravy

A knob of unsalted butter

100ml single cream

1 beef stock cube

1tsbp cranberry jelly

2tsps cornflour mixed with water


Do it: Place the stock cube in the frying pan in which you cooked the meatballs and add a dash of water, mix.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to the desired consistancy. Add the meatballs and serve.