Friday FUN: Braised Pork & Fennel Meatballs

Last Saturday the Wisconsin Test Kitchen went to the farmers market to pick up our first CSA delivery! For those not in the know (and this includes us prior to participating), CSA stands for Community Sponsored Agriculture. You partner with a local farm, and for a monthly fee you receive deliveries of fresh produce, meat, herbs- all kinds of yummy stuff. Sometimes it's a challenge figuring out what to make with some of the ingredients (kohlrabi, anyone?), but the end result is usually pretty delicious. This past week in our CSA box we received:

Strawberries

Salad Mix

Kohlrabi

Turnips

Swiss chard

Fennel

We're fortunate that the farm we partner with also provides us with delicious recipes for cooking inspiration. We looked through the recipes this week, and the idea of pork and fennel meatballs had our mouths watering. We had to give it a try. 

Braised Pork and Fennel Meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground pork
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

Braising Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced 

1 small onion, finely sliced
1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely shaved 

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoons ground fennel
1 28 oz can crushed San Marzano tomatoes 
Combine the pork, garlic, and fennel seeds in a large bowl and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Mix well then form into approximately 14 2-inch round meatballs. Set on a tray in the fridge to firm up while you prepare the braising sauce. 

 In a large Dutch oven heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add garlic, onion and fennel. Cook until onions and fennel are very tender and lightly caramelized - about 10-12 minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper then add ground fennel seeds. Deglaze with white wine and pour in tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes.

Set a large saute pan over high heat and add vegetable oil. When very hot, brown meatballs all over, about 2-3 minutes per side. 

Use a slotted spoon to transfer meatballs to the Dutch oven and nestle them in sauce.

 Cover slightly with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes until very tender. Serve with toasted baguette points, or with spaghetti.

Notes from the Test Kitchen

- We didn't have crushed tomatoes readily available, so we used a jar of pasta sauce instead.

 

-We made a loaf of bread to accompany the meal, and some of the meatballs were eaten open face over the bread like a meatball sandwich. The sauce is really, really, delicious. 

-Note on cooking technique: browning doesn't cook the meatballs all the way through- they need to continue cooking in the tomato fennel sauce. We're telling you this in case you have a  picky eater that won't eat tomato sauce, and you want to serve them meatballs plain. Not that it happened in our kitchen or anything... Try slicing the meatballs in half, and let them cook in the pan for another few minutes until they're cooked all the way through. 

Fennel is in season right now; so pick some up at your local farmers market, and prepare a batch of these delicious meatballs. You'll thank us.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew