Favorite Recipes: Meatballs with Polenta

I have no idea where I got this book but I was looking through my recipe books a couple weeks ago and came across this recipe. I love meatballs and I'm starting to really like polenta so I thought I'd give it a try. I cut the meat in half and only used ground turkey-it called for 8 oz ground sirloin and 8 oz ground turkey-and it still made a lot of meatballs with just 8 oz ground turkey! So glad I decided not to include the sirloin as well. This recipe made more than the 4 servings it suggests. I added some ginger and garlic to the ground turkey since there wasn't a lot of spices that were involved. The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was the leftovers. The polenta hardened up and turned really thick and even after reheating it, it still remained chunky-not the smooth polenta I had originally made that night. I think I'd make this again, but I think I'd try to half it and only make up the polenta I would need for that meal at a time. I also added a lot of Parmesan cheese to this recipe and spiced up the polenta with garlic salt. I used panko instead of the soaked bread, mainly because soft bread makes me gag.

Meatballs with Polenta: 4 servings

8 oz ground sirloin
8 oz ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 c chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
1/4 c Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/2 c tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 slice whole bread, torn into small pieces and briefly soaked in milk (I used about 1/2 c panko)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 c dried polenta, prepared according to pkg directions

Preheat oven to 450. Combine sirloin, turkey, egg, parsley, Parmesan, fennel seeds, ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt in large mixing bowl. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add it to the bowl (or use panko). Using your clean hands, gently mix the ingredients together. Form meatballs the size of golf balls, about 1" in diameter, being careful not to overwork the meat. Place the meatballs in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until nicely browned all over.

While the meatballs bake, heat the oil in a a deep skillet/pot (the sauce will splatter as it simmers!) over med. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook for about 3 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taste, and simmer while the meatballs finish cooking.

Transfer the meatballs straight from the oven to the sauce. Cook for at least 10 minutes (but preferable 20-30 minutes), turning the meatballs so that all parts have a chance to simmer in the sauce. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the soft polenta, topped with a bit of chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.

Meatballs ready for the oven...