Lemon Meatballs
These very light and fresh tasting meatballs were inspired by my half-Italian husband, Harry, saying, "Mom used to make such good meatballs; I think she put lemon in them." These are nothing like the traditional heavy meatballs associated with pasta and a thick tomato sauce. Which has it's place, but not right after 4 days of thanksgiving and stuffing.
Lemon Meatballs
- 3/4 pound very fresh lean ground beef
- bread and milk for midola
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 T finely minced onion
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- grated lemon rind from one large lemon, plus at least 1 T. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 t. oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 T. each butter and olive oil, for browning
First, make the midola, which is what holds the meatball together. This comes from the Italian bible of cooking, The Art of Living Well, which is to Italians what Joy of Cooking is to us. You want about a cup of soft, white bread, ideally from the "middle" (get it?) of a loaf of unsliced bread. If all you have is pre-sliced, use that, with crusts removed, and torn into several pieces per slice. Put the bread in a small bowl, add enough milk to soak it, and set aside for about 10 minutes. Put the remaining ingredients (except butter and oil) in a separate, larger bowl. Then take the bread-soaked milk, squeeze it to drain the milk, and add the bread goo to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly (by hand works most easily). Now make meatballs, about the size of a small egg, sqeezing them firmly between your hands as you round them. These are a little more fragile than traditional meatballs, so if you have time put them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up before cooking. When you're ready, melt the butter and olive oil together in a frying pan, and brown the meatballs over medium high heat, in batches if you need to, then turn down the heat and cook until they are firm and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes total. We thought they were so tasty they didn't need a sauce, but because they looked a little naked on the plate, I made a 5-minute marina, almost a coulis, and drizzled that over the meatballs. Even an Italian mother would approve.
(5-Minute Marina: Warm a clove of crushed garlic in a spoonful or so of olive oil. Add salt, crushed red pepper, oregano, and a dash of sugar. Stir it around. Add 1 T tomato paste and a 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 T. lemon rind. Drizzle over meatballs or anything else you fancy.)
Heather Forsyth
