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- Parmesan beef meatballs
The more I watch The Sopranos, the less I'm convinced they were bad guys.
They were victims of violent mood swings...
Caused by poor eating habits.
Don't believe me?
Watch the show again, and you'll notice:
Meals based on pasta + bread
Large (too large?) dinner portions
Washed down with glassfuls of Coke
Deep down, they were hardworking Italian-Americans who just loved Coppola movies.
And without all those excessive carbs at dinner?
They'd suffer less blood sugar spikes at mealtimes.
Meaning:
Clearer thinking (patience)
Fewer spontaneous felonies
Better parenting decisions
More friends, less enemies
Less violent outbursts of rage
Imagine all the fights Tony and Carmela could have avoided if they'd just cut down on the baked ziti...
And added more high-quality protein and vegetables to their meals.
Tony Soprano
Look, I get it.
We all love Italian food.
But if we want to enjoy it without having to loosen our belts by 2 notches after dinner...
We gotta make some adjustments to Italian dishes.
(Which is how I approached this week's SIMPL recipe)
A savory, high-protein stew of grass-fed beef meatballs and marinara paired some delightful charred broccoli scented with lemon.
It's meal prep designed to fuel your body throughout the day.
Crafted so you can avoid the bad decisions that result from post-meal energy crashes
(after eating carb-heavy meals.)
Parmesan beef meatballs with sweet pepper marinara and charred lemon broccoli
A new (lighter) meatball method
I wish I'd tried this new method of making meatballs sooner; it's clearly superior to my old method.
Ironically, this "new" method has been used for centuries.
It's only new to me. 🙄
This technique improves the flavor and texture of ground meat-based dishes such as meatloaf, meatballs, and fillings for ravioli and stuffed peppers.
Instead of dense, crumbly meatballs that become dry as their moisture bleeds out during cooking, this method creates meatballs with a smooth, cohesive texture that retain moisture.
The key is an ingredient called a panade.
A panade is a just a mixture of torn bread with the addition of a liquid - either milk or stock.
It provides a soft base for the seasoned ground meat, lightening its texture and making it more appealing overall.
Sounds pretty SIMPL, right?
making a panade
How to use a panade
You can make a panade with nothing but a mixing bowl and your bare hands.
Start with a few slices of bread and cut off the crusts.
(It can be fresh or stale bread - either is fine.)
Tear it into small pieces, add the liquid, then give it 5 minutes to absorb the liquid in the bowl.
Once it's soft and crumbly, mix it by hand into the ground meat and seasonings mixture, making sure it's fully incorporated - about 2-3 minutes.
If I'm using it for meatballs, I'll roll golfball-sized meatballs with my hands and lay them on a sheet pan one at a time.
Once they're rolled, you can refrigerate them overnight (for best flavor) or pop them right into the oven immediately.
For this recipe, I chose to fry them in olive oil ⬇️
Frying meatballs in olive oil
Parmesan beef meatballs with sweet pepper marinara and charred lemon broccoli
Before you start wondering, "where's the pasta" remember one thing:
These meatballs already have carbs, in the form of the bread used to make the panade.
That said, this meal's still a fairly low-carb recipe.
(Which could be a holiday blessing considering how many sugary desserts are floating around this time of year.)
For this dish, you’re going to "stew" meatballs in a quick marinara sauce that absorbs the rich flavor of the grass-fed beef as it cooks in the oven under a blanket of Italian cheeses.
Mix the ground meat with the panade, grated parmesan and mozzarella, grated onion, and salt and pepper.
After rolling it into meatballs, fry them in olive oil until brown and crispy on the outside.
In a pan, sweat some garlic, then add diced charred sweet peppers and tomato puree.
The browned meatballs are added to the pan with the sauce, sandwiched between two layers of shredded cheese.
Then the whole pan goes into the oven until the cheese is melted and the meatballs are fully cooked in the sauce.
Another sprinkle of cheese on top as it's portioned, and it's served alongside a mound of chopped, charred broccoli tossed with fresh lemon.
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Here’s the nutrition breakdown for 1 serving:
Calories: 663
Protein: 54g
Carbs: 19g
Fat: 41g
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Tuesday 12/17 at 3:00pm PT.
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Parmesan beef meatballs with sweet pepper marinara and charred lemon broccoli
Cooking time: 2 hours
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Ingredients:
2 lbs grass-fed ground beef (order 2)
2 red bell peppers (order 2)
Directions
For the peppers:
Place the peppers on a sheet pan in the oven under the broiler, and char them until they're blackened on all sides.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let them steam for 15 minutes until the skin loosens from the peppers.
Remove the plastic wrap and peel the skin off the peppers. Save the flesh and juice of the peppers, but discard the seeds, stem and skin.
Roughly chop the roasted peppers, and store them in a bowl.
For the meatballs:
Cut the crusts from the bread, tear them into small pieces, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Pour the milk over the bread, and let it absorb for 5-10 minutes.
Mix the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses together.
Grate the onion on a cheese grater, and add it to the bowl along with the ground beef, 1/4 of the cheese, salt, and black pepper to taste.
Mix together with your hands until combined, about 2-3 minutes, then form into golfball-sized meatballs. You should have a total of 20.
In a large, heavy sauté pan, heat the olive oil to fry the meatballs. When it's sizzling hot, carefully place the meatballs one at a time into the hot oil.
Brown them for just 3 minutes, carefully turning them with a pair of tongs, then set them aside on a tray.
For the sauce:
Carefully pour out the hot oil, clean the pan, then return it to medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp of the same oil back to the pan.
When the oil is hot, brown the garlic in the pan, then add the tomatoes, diced peppers, plus salt to taste.
Stir the mixture, then remove the pan from the heat, place a dry towel under it, and set it on the counter.
Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese and half the mozzarella onto the sauce, then place the meatballs on top. Sprinkle another 1/4 of the cheese on top of the meatballs.
Place the pan on the lowest rack of the oven under the broiler, cooking until the meatballs are fully cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and set the pan aside to cool.
For the broccoli:
While the meatballs are cooking, pour 2 Tbsp of the used olive oil into a mixing bowl, and toss with the broccoli, plus salt to taste.
Place the broccoli on a sheet pan, and place on the top rack of the oven under the broiler. Char the broccoli until it's brown on top, then remove and let it cool.
When it's cool, transfer to a cutting board, and chop it into roughly 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer the chopped broccoli to a mixing bowl and toss it with the lemon zest and juice.
To finish:
Divide the meatballs between 5 meal prep boxes, 4 apiece, and place the charred broccoli alongside it. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the meatballs and garnish with the remaining cheese on top.
Seal the containers and store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to reheat.
Parmesan beef meatballs with sweet pepper marinara and charred lemon broccoli
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