The Rural Voice, 2019-02, Page 44for 20 - 25 minutes, stirring gently
several times to coat meatballs
without breaking them. Meatballs are
done when the sauce has thickened
and coated all the meatballs. You
may also put these in the slow cooker
and cook on high for 1 hour or so.
Makes 3 ½ - 4 dozen 1 1/4 inch
meatballs
Spaghetti Squash and
Meatball Bake
We grew up with homemade
Italian style meat sauce on our
spaghetti and it is still the way we eat
it most often so I never bothered
adding meatballs to a pasta sauce but
the oven baked idea of this pasta dish
from the LCBO Food and Drink
magazine appealed to me for a
change. I was disappointed with the
outcome using gluten-free pasta and I
had made a double recipe of
meatballs so I decided to try
spaghetti squash underneath the
second time and it was a winner!
Ingredients:
1 medium to large spaghetti squash
(around 4 lb)
1 Tbsp olive oil, I used basil
flavoured
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tomato Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped, 1 – 2
cups
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 cans (796 ml) tomatoes or 7 cups
frozen plus 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar
dried hot pepper, not opened
Meatballs:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese or cream cheese
or chevre
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or frozen
or 1 1/2 tsp dry basil
Topping:
2 cups shredded provolone or
mozzarella cheese, about 250 g
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Prick squash all over with a fork
and roast at 400°F on a baking sheet
for an hour or more until it feels soft
when you press on it. Remove from
oven and let cool. Meanwhile prepare
tomato sauce by cooking onion in
olive oil 5 to 10 minutes on medium
low heat until softened then add
garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper
and let it cook a little longer.
Add tomatoes and let it simmer 30
minutes while you make the
meatballs.
For the meatballs mix egg, bread
crumbs, salt, pepper, cheese, garlic
and basil until evenly distributed then
add meat and mix throughout.
Using barely 1/4 cup make large,
2-inch, meatballs and place on
baking sheet without touching and
bake for 20 minutes cooked. Add to
tomato sauce and continue to cook on
low until ready to bake.
Cut cooled squash in half and
scoop out seeds and discard then
scoop out rest of squash and set aside
while you heat the garlic with the
olive oil in a large frying pan until it
is softened then add prepared squash
and continue to cook until most of
the liquid is evaporated.
Put a little sauce in the bottom of
a 9 x 13 baking pan then spread
squash mixture. Stir half the
mozzarella into the meatballs and
pour over squash and top with
remaining cheeses and bake in a
375°F until cheese is melted and
sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Romanian Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are not meatballs
you say .... but I find they are very
much like giant meatballs wrapped in
sweet pepper and simmered in a
tomato stock and since I usually
make them with ground chicken or
turkey they are quite different from
the above selections. The original
Romanian recipe suggested you
discard the pepper shell which has
already flavoured the dish but when I
make this I take the peppers out after
they are cooked and cut them along
with the stuffing inside and put it all
back into the tomato stock for a
hearty stew or soup.
I use homemade tomato juice for
the very best results but if I do not
have it I like to use V8 for a little
more flavour and some crushed
tomatoes maybe. Maria (original
recipe)uses a can of tomato paste
thinned with 1 ½ cups of water and a
little extra spice if that is all she has.
It all works as long as the peppers are
surrounded by the tomato “juice”.
Ingredients:
8 - 10 medium sweet peppers, any
colour, I might use a mixture
1/4 cup rice, converted long-grain
1 medium onion, minced
1 lb lean ground chicken, turkey,
beef or pork, I use chicken or turkey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
2 cups tomato juice, or enough to
cover the peppers in the pot
1/4 tsp marjoram
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp flour (optional) I usually
leave it out since we eat it as a thick
soup
2 Tbsp cold water to mix with flour
or starch if using
Directions:
Wash and core peppers.
Invert and drain while preparing
stuffing.
To make the stuffing, mix the
ground meat with the rice
(uncooked), minced onion, salt,
pepper and eggs until evenly
combined. Stuff the peppers with the
prepared mixture.
Place the peppers upright in
saucepan large enough for the
peppers to fit snugly with room
above for broth. I use a 4 qt, 8 inch
diameter pot with a lid.
Pour the tomato juice or paste
with water over the peppers in the
pot then add just enough water or
more juice to cover the peppers.
Bring to a boil and simmer on low
heat for about 45 - 50 minutes.
Stir in parsley and marjoram.
Whisk cold water with flour until
smooth, stir into tomato broth and
cook 5 minutes to thicken.
Serve in a bowl with tomato broth
overall.
Serves 4 - 6
Note: It is the time of year to think
about what peppers to start from seed
so you can make a few batches of
Romanian Peppers to freeze in the
fall. I like Stokes “Jumbo Stuff”
peppers that are yellow and maybe a
bit red. ◊
February 2019 41
Recipes