Meatball Stew

Well, lucky cable-free me had the opportunity to get a Food Network fix this weekend. After watching Rachael Ray, Barefoot Contessa and Pioneer Woman, it was Giada de Laurentis' cooking that caught my eye. She made this delicious looking meatball stew and I could hardly wait for the opportunity to make it for myself. It tasted just as good as it looked.  Verdict: Definitely something I will make again.

Here is my take on the recipe:

Ingredients for the Meatballs
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
4 Tbs of water
8 oz of ground turkey
2 Italian sausage links (casing removed)
1 egg
1 Tbs of Italian parsley
1/4 tsp of Kosher salt
1/4 tsp of ground pepper
1/4 cup of flour
2 Tbs of EVOO


Ingredients for the Stew
2 Tbs of EVOO
1 small onion, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into slices
1/4 tsp of Kosher salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
8 oz mushrooms, quartered
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
1 russet potato, cut into chunks (or a sweet potato)
1 cup of frozen green beans

1) In a medium sized bowl, take the bread crumbs and water and stir together until well-mixed. Add the other meatball ingredients, mixing well. As gross as it might be to you, I recommend using your hands. It worked much better than the fork I was attempting to use.

2) Sprinkle flour on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Form meatballs with the mixture--they should be slightly smaller than a ping pong ball (about 3 Tbs each). Place the meatballs on the baking sheet. You should get about 12-16 meatballs. Roll them in the flour until they are covered.

3) In a large skillet, heat the EVOO. Add the meatballs spacing them around the pan and cooking until they are browned on all sides. When they are browned set aside.

4) Add 2 Tbs of EVOO to the skillet and then the onions and the red peppers.  Cook until they are soft and then add the salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and the mushrooms.  Cook about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are no longer steaming.

5) Add the potato, green beans, the tomatoes and the chicken broth. Simmer about 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.

If I were to do this recipe again, I would definitely use sweet potato in place of the russett potato. I also would consider serving over a smaller pasta like shells or macaroni and using artichoke hearts in place of the potato.  Nevertheless, this was the perfect meal for a cold winter evening. Thanks Giada!