Monday, December 26, 2011

my kitchen: pesto, edamame & goat cheese meatballs



I made meatballs for the first time this year (spurred on by cravings watching America's Next Great Restaurant) and was surprised to find out how freakin easy it is! Maximum flavor for a little elbow grease. And the meatballs can be eaten as a side dish, with spaghetti or  for a meatball sub.

EASY PESTO, EDAMAME and GOAT CHEESE MEATBALLS RECIPE
-500 grams or 1 pound of ground beef
-1/3 cup of bread crumbs
-1 egg
-pinch of salt and pepper
-1 tbsp italian seasoning

Mix elements by hand, form little balls. Can make original flavor and then some with add-in ingredients. If stuffing with cheese, then cut cheese into cubes to form the meatball around the cheese.


I made some with just pesto, some with pesto and edamame, and some with pesto and goat cheese. I like to make mini meatballs too, but if you make different size meatballs, it's best to put them on different trays since the mini ones will cook faster.

Cook in oven for about 20-25 minutes at 180C (or 350F) or until browned and cooked through.


OPTIONAL ADD INs
-pesto
-goat cheese
-edamame
-olives
-parmesan cheese
-mushrooms


Use leftover meatballs the next day for meatball sub. SO GOOD. I just spooned some tomato pasta sauce onto the meatballs and brushed ciabatta roll with pesto sauce, added some provolone cheese (thanks to my friend M) and threw it in the toaster oven. Decadent and delicious. You cannot find a good meatball sandwich in Taipei, and no Subway doesn't count- for some reason Taipei's Subway meatballs are too processed.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks absolutely delicious! Where did you get the goat cheese here in Taipei? And also, if you don't mind checking out my blog, I have a few recipes that I whipped up here in Taipei as well.

joanh said...

Hi V! Thanks for your comment! Goat cheese is often available at Costco and is pretty good portion for the price. I couldn't find a link to your blog.

:)