Little Meatballs in Rich Cheese Sauce

Here I am, at the last post from this marvelous book, Josceline Dimbleby’s “Marvellous Meals with Mince”, 1982. I followed this recipe too, light years away and enjoyed it very much. I am not into mince meat but these recipes made it so delicious and easy, thanks to  the wonderful cookery writer Josceline Dimbleby. Thank you. 🙂

Today it is all about cheesy cheese and if you ask me, this recipe reminds me a lot of a pizza. Just imagine the swimming meatballs in a cheese sauce that melts away and elongates as you extract a meatball, just like a pizza. Isn’t it deliciously nice looking?

Little Meatballs in Rich Cheese Sauce

Many little meatballs

Ingredients:

• 350 g/ 3/4 lb beef mince
• 100 g/ 4 oz semolina
• 2 rounded tbsp/ 4×15 ml tomato puree
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 2 tsp/ 2×5 ml oregano
• 1 tbsp/ 15 ml oil or fat for frying
• sare si piper negru

For the sauce:

• 25 g/ 1 oz butter
• 2 rounded tbsp/ 4×15 ml plain flour
• 600 ml/ 1 pint milk
• 225 g/ 8 oz grated cheese
• 150 ml/ 5 fl oz carton of soured cream
• 1/4 – 1/2 whole nutmeg, grated
• salt and black pepper
• grated Parmesan or extra grated cheese

Method:

• To make the meatballs, put the mince in a bowl and add the semolina, tomato puree, chopped garlic and oregano. Season generously with salt and black pepper and mix thoroughly together. With your hands form the mixture into small meatballs, each about the size of a medium-size marble.
• Heat the oil or fat in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs over a fairly high heat, turning them continually for 5-10 minutes, until dark brown all over. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a fairly shallow ovenproof dish (1 3/4 – 2 pint/ 1 – 1.1 litre capacity), such as an earthenware gratinee or flan dish, in which the meatballs cover the bottom fairly loosely.
• To make the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Then gradually stir in the milk. Put back on the heat, bring to the boil, stirring, and let bubble, still stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Then stir the soured cream and grated nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour over the meatballs, covering them. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan or other cheese over the top. Cook in the centre of the oven, Gas Mark 4/ 180°C, 350°F for 45 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!

Elena G

Meat Loaf with Blue Cheese Filling

As you are accustomed by now, after the translation of the recipe in Romanian, comes the original English one. This is a personal’s Josceline Dimbleby’s variation of the American type of meat loaf from her book “Marvellous Meals with Mince”, 1982. She recommends to try it with baked potatoes, cooked in the oven at the same time, and a green salad or baby carrots. Or all at the same time, I say. You can also check her other recipes I followed, such as beef and anchovy meatballs with soured cream , cheesy fish cakes with spring onions , mousaka with Gruyère cheese . In Romania there is something similar to this recipe, called “drob” and it has a whole egg inside, plus it is made with lamb meat. For a variation, you can follow this traditional drob , but please use Google translate or any other app for translating because it is in Romanian. I chose this recipe over other as I find it very easy to follow and I also learn some interesting facts, too, that are said the way I understand and like. 🙂

Meat Loaf with Blue Cheese Filling

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 450 g/ 1 lb beef mince (please buy good quality beef and mince it at home or at the shop, if you want to)
• 75 g/ 3 oz finely chopped mushrooms
• 50 g/ 2 oz fresh breadcrumbs
• 100 g/ 4 oz streaky bacon, chopped finely
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 tsp/ 5 ml oregano or thyme
• 3 tbsp / 3×15 ml tomato ketchup (the book mentions this but I find it hard to believe, though I may be wrong too, that it is the ketchup we know today  and it might be the tomato juice with pulp made at home or bought)
• 1 large egg (size 1-2), beaten
• salt and black pepper

For the filling:

• 100 g/ 4 oz Danish blue cheese (you can replace with any other blue cheese I guess, if you like)
• 1 tbsp/ 15 ml single cream or top of the milk (I find it hard to understand this top of the milk but probably others do)
• 1 egg, beaten
• a good pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp/ 3×15 ml tomato ketchup (same as above)
• a few sprigs of parsley, to garnish

Method:

• In a bowl mix all the ingredients (except those for the filling) together thoroughly and season well with salt and pepper. Grease a 2 lb (1 kg) loaf tin. Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/ 180°C, 350°F.
• Spoon half the mixture into the bread tin. Crumble the cheese in a small bowl, mix well with the cream or top of the milk and beaten egg and add the cayenne pepper. Spread this on the layer of meat in the tin. Spoon the remaining meat mixture evenly on top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour and then remove from the oven.
• Turn up the oven to Gas Mark 9/ 240°C, 475°F. Loosen the sides of the loaf with a knife and turn it out very gently on to an ovenproof serving dish. Smear the loaf all over with the tomato ketchup and put back into the oven, cooking for 10-15 minutes. Serve garnished with sprigs of parsley.

Enjoy your meal!

Elena G

Beef and Anchovy Meatballs with Soured Cream

Hi! It is time to start Monday with a nice meal. For today we have a delicious recipe, on the house, of course, followed from  Josceline Dimbleby’s “Marvellous Meals with Mince”, 1982. It is tried and tested so don’t worry. You can accompany it with a glass of red or white wine because it has red meat but also white meat. And for desert, may I suggest the fruit that blushes when you cook it? Ok, is that all? Thank you, it will be ready in 10-15 minutes. You can enjoy the wine in the meantime.

Beef and Anchovy Meatballs with Soured Cream

I have not counted them

Ingredients:

• 75 g/ 3 oz white bread (or brown) with crusts cut off
• milk
• 350 g/ 3/4 lb ground beef
• 50 g/ 1 3/4 oz can of anchovy fillets
• 2-3 cloves of garlic cloves
• a handful of  parsley,  chopped finely
• flour
• 1 tbsp/ 15 ml oil
• a good blob of butter
• 150 ml/ 5 fl oz carton of soured cream
• chopped parsley to garnish
• salt and black pepper

Method:

• Pull the bread apart roughly and pour over enough milk to soak it. Mash with a fork until pasty. Add the ground beef and drain in the oil from the can of anchovies. With a sharp knife, chop the anchovies and garlic together very finely. Mix into the meat with the parsley and season well with salt and black pepper. With wet hands, form the mixture into meatballs, each about the size of a walnut, and roll in flour.
• Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Reduce  the heat to medium and fry the meatballs for about 6-8 minutes, turning them round all the time, until they  are a rich golden brown all over. Tansfer to a warm with a slotted spoon. Stir the soured cream with a fork and then spoon over the meatballs. You can use yoghurt for a light ans healthier choice. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Enjoy your meal!

Elena G