Meatballs with marinara
I’d been aiming to create a solidly delicious, all-purpose meatball suitable for tossing with marinara over spaghetti. Except it didn’t quite work out that way. The meatballs were both too tangy and too sweet to pair with your basic pasta sauce. Then it hit me. and I ended up with these cocktail meatballs, perfect for setting out with toothpicks for a holiday gathering. And it turned out the sauce couldn’t have been simpler.
Cocktail Meatballs With Cranberry Marinara
Start to finish: 30 minutes Makes 50 meatballs 3 eggs, beaten 32 g (1/4 cup) finely chopped cilantro 15 g (1 tbsp) finely chopped jalapeno slices 3 cloves garlic, minced 10 g (2 tsp) fennel seeds 10 g (2 tsp) dried oregano 5g (1 tsp) onion powder 2.5 g (1/2 tsp) red pepper flakes Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 kg (3 lbs) ground beef (93 per cent lean) 397 g (14-oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce 425 g (15-oz) can diced tomatoes Splash of hot sauce Heat the oven to 425 F (C). Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a bowl, combine the eggs, cilantro, jalapenos, garlic, fennel, oregano, onion powder, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Whisk until well combined. Add the ground beef, then mix gently until completely blended. Divide the mixture into 50 balls, using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture per ball. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the meatballs for 20 minutes. Increase heat to broil and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberry sauce and diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
When the meatballs are done, arrange on a platter, then spoon the cranberry mixture over them. Serve with toothpicks.
Nutrition information per meatball: 60 calories; 15 calories from fat (25 per cent of total calories); 1.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 0 g fibre; 2 g sugar; 6 g protein; 270 mg sodium.