Pork Meatballs w/ Caramelized Fennel

It’s hard to see the meatballs, but they’re there

Time: 2 Hours

Ingredient Availability: 5/5

Difficulty: 1/5

Key Ingredients & Omissions:

I think everything that this recipe calls for can be found fairly easily. I didn’t buy any ground fennel for this recipe, so I just blended some seeds myself. Instead of making my own baguettes this time, I just bought one from the bakery in my local grocery store. I didn’t leave anything out, but I did use Pecorino Romano instead of Parmigiano Reggiano because I picked up the wrong one at the store. I also, had less honey than I though, so I used molasses to make up the difference.

Tools:

• Kitchen Towel

• Rasp Style Grater

• Food Processor

• Large Pot

Cooking Review:

Prep: 25 minutes

The prep for this recipe included chopping the onion, bread, and fennel fronds, as well as removing the crust from the bread, juicing a lemon, and shredding the cheese. I also put some confit garlic into a blender to break it down I left slicing the fennel bulbs for later.

Soak Bread and Wring out Onion: 16 minutes

While I had the bread chunks soaking in milk, I went ahead and put the chopped in the food processor to get it as close to a puree as possible before transferring into a clean kitchen towel and squeezing out as much water as I could.

Wring out Bread & Mix meat: 13 minutes

I transferred the bread to the same towel I used for the onion and squeezed out the milk. I put it into a bowl along with the meat and the rest of the meatball ingredients. I used my hands to mix everything together until just combined.

Form Balls & Bake: 24 minutes

I formed the balls using a tablespoon scoop to get each one about the same size (about 2 tablespoons total). I arranged the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and baked the for 17 minutes before setting them aside before working on the caramelized fennel.

Chop Fennel: 4 minutes

I washed, cored, and sliced the fennel to get it prepared for the next step. I also measured out the other ingredients for the caramelized fennel.

Caramelize Fennel: 32 minutes

I heated the olive oil in a large pot and added the sliced fennel. I cooked them for about 12 minutes before adding the pepper flakes, fennel, and salt to cook for another minute or so. I added the vinegar, honey, and molasses and cooked to for 18 minutes until the sauce was reduced and thickened. I removed the fennel from the heat and stirred in the lemon juice.

Analysis:

I really liked this recipe. The meatballs were very flavorful and I could actually taste the cheese, which usually gets lost in meatballs. They were well cooked and had a nice bite, but were tender, overall. The fennel paired very well with the meatballs, adding some nice savory sweetness and crunch. There is also a very slight spice, which is mostly from the fennel, but can also be felt from the meatballs. I actually think this might be one of my favorite meatball recipes. I’m going to give it a 9/10. The only issue with this recipe for me is that the meatballs got cold while I made the caramelized fennel. I’m sure it wasn’t meant to take as long as it did for me, but If you know that going in, you could probably make up for it.