Monday, October 02, 2006

Hungarian Meatballs

Everyone really liked this recipe. Dylan and Hannah definitely loved it!

I was supposed to serve it with couscous and peas, but I served it with rice and peas instead. I'm thinking egg noodles would be good too.

The meatballs are supposed to be threaded onto skewers, kabab style. I didn't bother.

When I make meatballs, I use the leanest ground beef I can find. Because all the extra ingredients (like bread or crackers) in the meatballs just soak up the fat, they will be much more fattening if you use a higher fat ground beef. I used a 93/7% ground beef, I think.

The recipe calls for wine, but I didn't have any on hand, so I just increased some of the other liquids in the recipe. We only use wine for cooking, and so we really don't keep much on hand. I've never been a drinker, and so going to the liquor store is just so foreign to me, lol! It just feels weird and I have to either force myself to go or talk dh into going.


Meatball Kebabs
with creamy paprikash sauce

Makes 18-24 meatballs, 3 cups sauce
total time: 1hour


For the meatballs-
Combine; shape;

1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground criander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup milk (whole)
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Brown in; Skewer:
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce-
Sweat; Add;

2 cups red or yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 cup onion, sliced
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Deglaze with; off heat, stir in:
1/2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
Serve with; Garnish with:
Couscous and peas, halved kalamata olives, chopped fresh parsley, and lemon wedges

Combine ingredients (except the oil) for the meatballs, then shape into 2" balls using a scoop or spoons (yeah, right, I just used my hands, lol!).
Brown meatballs in batches in oil over medium-high heat in a nonstick saute pan coated with nonstick spray. Saute 5-8 minutes (do not cook though), transfer to a plate, and cool. Thread 3 meatballs on 6"-long skewers and set aside.
Sweat the peppers and onion for the sauce over medium heat in the same pan used for the meatballs (add more oil if needed). Cook until softened, 8-10 munutes; add paprika and garlic, and cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
Deglaze with wine and simmer until reduced by half, 2-3 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, and salt; cook 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Return skewers to the pan, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked, 4-5 minutes. Transfer skewers to a plate.
Off heat, stir the sour cream into the sauce until incorporated.
Serve meatballs and sauce over couscous garnished with olives, parsley and lemon.

This was another great recipe brought to you by the folks at Cuisine at Home.

6 comments:

Angelina said...

Planning meeting tonight for OAMC if you want to come... he he. I found a cool website that hosts OAMC meals! I am all set to get this going....

Renee said...

Oh man, that sounds so good! We have a plethora of ground beef here, living on a farm, and I get sick of doing the same old things with it. I'll definately be trying this!

Unknown said...

Angelina, well, honestly, it just wouldn't work for me to go to Monticello. Its just too far away! Have fun with your OAMC!! I hope you will be posting about it!

Renee, I'm glad you like it. It was pretty yummy!

Unknown said...

That was me, Laurie who just posted. I'm not sure why they have me labeled as l.

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Did you change your profile lately? That is weird.

They look super yummy. Dh just picked up ground beef from the butcher when he went for the steak tonight. I see a similar meal in my future. ;)

Val

Anonymous said...

Looks good, and it probably is very tasty...but it's really not very Hungarian.

The sauce part is definitely in the right ballpark, but the meatball recipe is probably about as far away from anything Hungarian as you can get.