Feb 4, 2015

Sheet Pan Meatballs and Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Dell Harper loved these tomatoes so much she ate half a pan.
I ate the other half.  They are amazing!

This recipe is adapted from a new cookbook by Molly Gilbert named "Sheet Pan Suppers".  This is in my wheelhouse- I adore anything that can be prepped during nap time, then baked while we are on a walk, or playing, or pitching fits, etc.  Hands on is not doable with my crew.  Anyway, this is the first recipe I have made, and I loved it!  So did the kids- Deeds ate close to 8 meatballs.  Poor Morgan was recovering from a stomach bug, so he was non-eligible for reviewer status.
My hurried snaps do not do just justice.  I did not have the patience to style and prep a photo.  I just had to dig in!

I didn't start too far from the original recipe- added an extra pint of tomatoes, ground pork to the ground turkey, and mixed up the seasoning a tad.

Ingredients:

5 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves of garlic
Pinch of fine sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small peeled yellow onion
1 lb ground turkey (not too lean)
1 lb ground pork
1 heaping cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup panko
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon stone ground mustard
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus extra for serving
ricotta cheese for serving

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees with racks in upper and lower third.  Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

2.  On one of the pans, arrange the tomatoes in a single layer with the garlic cloves.  Evenly drizzle everything with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Toss to coat.  Bake on lower rack, rotating pan halfway through, until they are puckered crinkly and sweet, about 45 minutes.  The longer they roast the better they are- you can take them out at 30 minutes, but try for an hour.

3.  Meanwhile, make the meatballs.   Grate the onion with a box grater into a large bowl, to capture the onion juice as well.  Add the ground meats, Parmesan, panko, spices, olive oil, mustard and basil.  Use your hands to mix until well combined.  Don't over work the meat- this will give you dry, dense meatballs.

4.  Divide and shape the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs, and place on the other sheet pan, leaving just a bit of space between the meat balls.  Once the tomatoes have cooked at least thirty minutes (I roasted mine at low heat closer to an hour), crank the oven up to 375.  Put the meatballs on the upper oven rack.

5.  Bake both pans until the tomatoes are sizzling- about 15 minutes.  Take the tomatoes out and set them aside.  Flip the meatballs, rotate the pan and continue to bake until they are no longer raw inside, an additional 20-25 minutes.

6.  Serve the meatballs warm on a bed of the slow-roasted tomatoes, with dollops of ricotta on top.  Garnish with some extra basil.


Make this- I am getting hungry just thinking about it. . .

2 comments:

  1. I think I married the only man in America who doesn't like meatballs OR pork (well, he claims not to like pork but he can put down some bacon like a boss... I guess it's "other pork" that is unacceptable.). He might just have to deal because these look delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks delicious! We love roasted tomatoes-- I just wish our son did too!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from y'all, so drop me a line!