Polpette and Spaghetti with Two Pasta Sauces (Meatball Pasta bro)

Until recently I've never cared too much for spaghetti and meatballs but, my local Italian does off chops antipasti polpette and a wicked polpette pizza. They are soft and glorious and I thought I'd give it a go. This recipe is solid. There is a bit of stuffing around but it is worth it. My kids hate fennel but love this. There are a few components here at play that make this work. Using bacon fat in the meatball to render down as it cooks combined with the softness of bread soaked in milk creates a wicked texture. Finishing the pasta with a fresh tomato sauce just brings it all together.

Meatballs:

1 finely diced onion

1/3 stick of celery finely diced

1 carrot finely diced

4 cloves garlic minced

500gms pork mince

500gms beef mince

Fat from 4 slices of bacon finely minced

1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Stalks from some parsley finely minced

5 slices of white bread, crust removed and discarded, soaked in milk

2tsp fennel seeds ground finely with salt in a mortar and pestle

Pepper (the fennel already has salt)

Extra virgin olive oil

Pasta Sauce:

1 tbs tomato paste

400ml passata

1/2 an onion fine diced

4 cloves garlic minced

2 rashers of bacon fine diced

Handful of basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Spaghetti

Fresh Tomato Sauce:

1/2 an onion in fine dice

1 tub cherry tomatoes quartered

Handful of basil leaves

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

For the meatballs sauté the onion, celery and carrot in some EVOO over a very low temperature until they are quite jammy. Add the garlic toward the end of this process. Set aside and allow to cool. Drain the milk from the bread and gently squeeze out some of the excess. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients with salt and pepper and mix well, making sure you break down the bread. Roll into even sized balls. I weigh mine to 80gms. Place in the fridge for a while to firm up.

Fry the meatballs in a little EVOO over a medium temperature in a saucepan large enough to fit them all. Once they have some nice colour but aren't cooked all of the way through, remove to a clean plate.

In the same pan make the pasta sauce by gently sautéing the onion, bacon and garlic over a medium heat. When the onions are translucent cook the tomato paste for a few minutes then add in the passata and stir through, adding the basil in whole. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove the basil. Place the meatballs in, spooning over some of the sauce. Simmer the meatballs over a low heat while you boil your pasta (keep some pasta water).

For the fresh tomato sauce (this can be done in advance and reheated) sauté onion and garlic until soft in a decent glug of EVOO with some salt and pepper. Bung in the cherry tomatoes and as they become softer, squish them down. Add in the basil to infuse. Set aside

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the polpette to a plate, stir the pasta through your pasta sauce with some of the pasta water. Pasta into bowls - balls on top - fresh tomato sauce on top of that - parmesan cheese, flaky salt, EVOO - some herb if you've got it - crispy prosciutto if you've got that too.

Chicken and Rice Lunch Prep w/ Variations

Eventually the kids got bored with ham sandwiches for lunch. Fair enough bro. Anywho the request was made for chicken and rice for lunch. To avoid the kids getting sick of this too I make variations with the flavours, it is no extra work. This all happens in the oven and the rice cooker and apart from shredding the chicken, is only about 20 minutes work. 

The premise is the same to how I prepare chicken for tacos - a bed of veg, some aromatics, seasoned chicken on top. Roast, shred, combine with the veg and cooking juices. About half of the cooking juices goes into the rice too. Target sell a chicken shredder for about $5. If you don't have that, just bash the chicken up with a whisk - works a treat. 

This recipe makes enough for 9 meals.

1kg chicken thigh fillets

Taco seasoning (I make my own, its heaps easy)

1 onion sliced

Half a tub of cherry tomatoes sliced

1 chorizo diced or a few slices of bacon

Coriander stalks and leaves (optional)

4 cloves garlic sliced thinly

1 lime sliced in half

2 bay leaves

1 capsicum sliced in small pieces

Vegetable oil

2 cups rice

1 heaped tsp chicken stock powder

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Line a baking tray with baking paper. This is easier if you wet the tray first then place down the paper - it makes it stick. Also makes cleaning up easier. Cover the tray in the onion, tomato, capsicum, chorizo, garlic, bay leaves, squeeze the lime over and place the limes on the tray too.

Season the chicken with the taco seasoning and coat with oil. Place on top of the veg tray. Roast for an hour or until the chicken starts to be able to be pulled apart. Baste it if you can be bothered. 

Cook the washed rice with a heaped teaspoon of chicken stock powder. Add some washed/cooked black beans toward the end if you feel like it.

When ready, remove from the oven, take out the bay leaf, squeeze the roasted lime onto the tray then discard. Allow to rest for a bit. Pour half of the cooking juices and half of the veg into the rice and mix through. Shred the chicken and mix with the remaining veg mixture. Portion rice and meat into lunch things, place in the fridge for future use.

Variations:

Curry Red/Green/Yellow - use jar sauce, coat the meat as before, change the veg to suit your needs. Maybe cook the rice with coconut milk, season with a little soy sauce, fish sauce, lime and sugar.

Jamaican: Jerk seasoning is rad. Get some of that. Use black beans in the rice too

Spanish: Season the chicken with salt/pepper, tomato paste, paprika and cumin. Put some sliced black olives in the rice toward the end

Japanese: Miso seasoning with some lime juice, honey and sesame oil

Portugeeeeezer: I actually haven't done this but, I'd just buy some Nando's seasoning - I am sure it would be ace

 

Green Curry version 1 million...

Recently I made some Green Curry for a mate and her family. She dug it but wanted the recipe so I said I'd build one for her. I'm writing this also for my reference too as I keep making it and forgetting what I'd done before. 

Green Curry I am sure has rules and what not but it kind of is just a moosh of green things and a heap of aromatics. It is way better than jar sauce and worth the five minutes it takes to rough chop some veg and whiz it up in a food processor. What I will say though is a game changer is velveting your meat before hand. It is easy and it works heaps good. Or not, its up to you...

For the Paste:

1 bunch coriander, washed, roots removed, reserve some leaves for garnish

5 cloves garlic

1 thumb ginger

3 stalks lemon grass

3 limes

Chilli to whatever capacity you like (none is ok)

3 spring onions, some green bits reserved for finishing

1 tsp roasted shrimp paste

1 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs vegetable oil

Dinner itself:

500gms chicken breast or skinless thigh fillets

2tsp bicarbonate soda

1 tsp chicken stock powder

Salt, pepper and a good pinch of MSG if you can get it

400ml coconut milk

Greens of your choice, blanched

1 onion sliced

Soy Sauce

1 tbs brown sugar

2 limes

1 tbs fish sauce or so

Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Curry paste as above

Rice to serve

For the curry paste: 

Remove the outer layer of the lemon grass stalks and use a microplane to grate the white parts of the lemon grass down until you get to the woody bit. Zest one of the limes and juice 2 of the limes. Rough chop the veg and stick in a blender with with the oil, juice, zest and shrimp paste. Taste it and see if it needs salt - the shrimp paste is very salty though. Add more lime juice if it isn't zingy enough. If it is heaps dry, add more oil until it is a smooth paste.

Dinner though: 

Thin slice the chicken breast in bite size pieces. Place the sliced chicken into a bowl with the bi-carb, chicken stock powder, salt, pepper, MSG and two or three tablespoons of water. Mix and set aside for twenty minutes. This will make your chicken absorb the seasonings and the water - consequently giving you more browning and is more moist.

Brown the chicken in batches in a little oil and remove to keep warm. Fry the onion until it takes on some colour. Add the curry paste and fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Add in the coconut milk, bring to a light simmer, reduce the heat and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Add in the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice and some soy sauce. Stir and check for balance adding more of what is missing. Unsure? Not sweet enough - add more sugar. Not enough zing, more lime juice. Not enough weird - add more fish sauce.

Bung in your greens to heat through and some spring onion slices. Dish up, garnish, eat. Peanuts and fried onions, coriander, more lime juice and fresh chilli are good to stick on top.