Tangy Cranberry Meatballs
This great recipe is based on my regular meatball recipe with cranberry sauce and a bit of wine added. The flavor is unique and makes this a Yom Tov specialty! You can make the meatballs any size you like; I think it looks (and stretches) best when the meatballs are tiny, but if you’re short on time, you needn’t worry about their size.
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/2 kilo (1 pound) ground beef
1/2 kilo (1 pound) ground turkey or chicken
1 onion, pureed with 2 gloves garlic
2 eggs
1/2 cup kasha or quinoa or bulgur or breadcrumbs *
1 additional large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
Method
*If you use kasha, quinoa or bulgur, soak the grains first in ¾ cup very hot water for 15 minutes to soften before adding to meat mixture. Breadcrumbs do not need to be soaked.
Mix together the ground beef, ground chicken, and pureed onion and garlic. Add in eggs and 1/2 cup of softened grain. Mix and if you are not making the meatballs right away, cover the bowl and let it chill in the fridge.
Using a large frying pan, sauté the additional chopped onion in the 2 tablespoons of oil on a low flame and while it is sautéing, form meatballs and add to the slowly sautéing onion. Let them brown for about five minutes, turning once to brown on the other side, then remove them to a plate. Keep forming meatballs and browning them until you have finished all the meat mixture.
Prepare sauce in a deep pot:
Sauce
1 can smooth cranberry sauce without berries
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup semidry white wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon pepper
Stir sauce ingredients together to smooth out any lumps and simmer on low. Add the meatballs, and simmer for one hour. This recipe does freeze well. Serve over a bed of brown rice, cooked quinoa or cooked and fluffed bulgur.
