Braised Meatballs with Artichokes and Fennel

Name: Braised Meatballs with Artichokes and Fennel
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 455 grams pound fresh baby artichokes, trimmed; or one 12-ounce (one 340-g) package whole or quartered frozen baby artichokes (no need to thaw); 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, halved, same as with the salt; 3 Tbsps fresh bread crumbs; 1 teaspoon dried dill; 1 large egg white; 1 large fennel bulb, any stems and fronds removed, the tough root end sliced off and discarded, then the bulb itself chopped; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 2 Tbsps olive oil; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 mediums shallots, minced; 1 large tomato, chopped; 2 Tbsps reduced-sodium tomato paste; 360 milliliters 1/3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth; 225 grams 1/2 cup whole wheat flour; 1 large yellow onion, chopped; 455 grams pound ground goat

Need a dairy free main course? Braised Meatballs with Artichokes and Fennel could be an excellent recipe to try. This recipe covers 23% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. One serving contains 395 calories, 15g of protein, and 9g of fat. This recipe serves 4. Head to the store and pick up baby artichokes, olive oil, ground goat, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the ground cinnamon you could follow this main course with the Cinnamon Twists as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 45 minutes.

Instructions

Mix the ground meat, egg white, bread crumbs, shallots, oregano, dill, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper in a medium bowl until uniform—that is, until the spices are spread evenly throughout; the bread crumbs, too; and the egg white is no longer visible as a scummy film. Form this mixture into 12 golf balls.

Ingredients you will need

Breadcrumbs

Ground Beef

Egg Whites

Shallot

Oregano

Pepper

Spices

Spread

Dill

Salt

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, spread the flour on a plate. Swirl the oil into the pot, then roll half the balls in the flour.

Ingredients you will need

Spread

All Purpose Flour

Roll

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Pot

Put them in the pot and brown on all sides. (OK, geometry teachers, balls don't have sides. But you know what I mean.) About 7 minutes will do it.

Equipment you will use

Pot

Transfer them to a plate and repeat with the remaining balls.

Dump the onion, fennel, tomato, and artichokes into the pot. Stir over the heat until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Artichoke

Fennel

Tomato

Onion

Equipment you will use

Pot

Pour in the broth; stir in the tomato paste, lemon juice, cinnamon, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. As the mixture begins to simmer, make sure you scrape up any browned bits in the pot. Then tuck the meatballs into the simmering sauce and pour any juices on their plate over everything. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Ingredients you will need

Tomato Paste

Lemon Juice

Meatballs

Cinnamon

Pepper

Broth

Sauce

Salt

Equipment you will use

Pot

More to Know

If you've never worked with fresh baby artichokes, take this warning to heart: You may need to lose a little more than half of each before they're ready to go in the stew.

Ingredients you will need

Baby Artichoke

Stew

Cut the top third off the artichoke, getting rid of any spiky points, even inside. Then pull off the outer leaves until you get down to a small pale green, sometimes yellowish, teardrop-shaped vegetable. The choke inside (the hairy bits in a bigger artichoke) is still edible in these small ones, so there's no need to remove it. Or buy frozen baby artichokes and be done with it.

Ingredients you will need

Artichoke

Vegetable

From Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Text copyright © 2011 Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough; photographs copyright © 2011 Marcus Nilsson. Published in 2011 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of ABRAMS.

Ingredients you will need

Cream Of Tartar