Meatball Wellington Recipes

EXCELLENT MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do 1 final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more. Add more anyway.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Shape the meat into desired size. Some people like 'em big some people like 'em small. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUM!
• Coat a large saucepot with olive oil and add the pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat and cook the pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, season generously with salt and stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring frequently.
• Pass the tomatoes through the food mill. Be sure to pass all of the pulp through the holes leaving only the stems and the seeds, and be sure to scrape the pulp off of the bottom of the food mill. That's all of the big money stuff! Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out 1 of the empty tomato cans with water and add that water to the pot (about 2 to 3 cups). Season generously with salt and TASTE IT!!!! Tomatoes take a lot of salt. Season in baby steps and taste every step of the way. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.
• Use the sauce right away on pasta or for any other tomato sauce need. This sauce can also be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and freezes really well.
• Yield: 2 quarts

MEATLOAF WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Beat 1 egg in a large bowl until foamy. Add onion, ground beef, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic; mix until combined. Mold mixture into a loaf on a baking sheet.
• Unroll crescent rolls and use to cover meatloaf completely, seaming seals and perforations so that no meat is visible.
• Whisk remaining egg and water in a small bowl to make egg wash. Brush egg wash over crust.
• Bake meatloaf in the preheated oven until crust is very dark and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 45 minutes.

CLASSIC BEEF WELLINGTONS

Steps:

• Sprinkle steaks with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a large skillet, brown steaks in 1 tablespoon oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and refrigerate until chilled., In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in remaining oil until tender. Stir in remaining salt and pepper; cool to room temperature., Preheat oven to 425°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each puff pastry sheet into a 14x9-1/2-in. rectangle. Cut into two 7-in. squares (use scraps to make decorative cutouts if desired). Place a steak in the center of each square; top with mushroom mixture. Lightly brush pastry edges with water. Bring opposite corners of pastry over steak; pinch seams to seal tightly., Place in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Cut four small slits in top of pastry. Arrange cutouts over top if desired. Brush with egg., Bake 25-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°).

MEAT LOAF WELLINGTON

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup gravy, bread cubes, onion, egg and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well., Press into a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°., Remove loaf from pan; drain on paper towels. Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Unroll crescent dough; seal seams and perforations. Cover top and sides of meat loaf with dough; trim excess., Bake for 10-15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Heat the remaining gravy; serve with meat loaf.

MEATBALL WELLINGTON

Steps:

• 1. Thaw the pastry and meatballs (if frozen).
• 2. Cut pastry into four equal squares. Place shredded mozzarella in the center, followed by the meatball.
• 3. Fold up corners and other parts to make it a pastry ball. Brush egg wash over.
• 4. 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve on a plate with warm marinara sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, parsley or sliced basil.

WHOLESOME BEEF WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Heat some oil in a large pan and quickly fry the seasoned beef all over until it's brown. Remove and allow to cool. The point of this is simply to sear the beef and seal all those juices in, you don't want to cook the meat at this stage. Allow to cool and brush generously with the mustard.
• Roughly chop the mushrooms and blend in a food processor to form a puree. Scrape the mixture into a hot, dry pan and allow the water to evaporate. When sufficiently dry (the mixture should be sticking together easily), set aside and cool.
• Roll out a generous length of cling film, lay out the four slices of Parma ham, each one slightly overlapping the last. With a pallet knife spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the ham.
• Place the beef fillet in the middle and keeping a tight hold of the cling film from the outside edge, neatly roll the parma ham and mushrooms over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the ends to secure the clingfilm. Refrigerate for 10 -15 minutes, this allows the Wellington to set and helps keep the shape.
• Roll out the pastry quite thinly to a size which will cover your beef. Unwrap the meat from the cling film. Egg wash the edge of the pastry and place the beef in the middle. Roll up the pastry, cut any excess off the ends and fold neatly to the 'underside'. Turnover and egg wash over the top. Chill again to let the pastry cool, approximately 5 minutes. Egg wash again before baking at 200°C for 35 - 40 minutes. Rest 8 -10 minutes before slicing.
• Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before serving.
• Separate the outside leaves of the baby gem (leaving the smaller inner ones for salads) and very quickly sauté them in a pan of olive oil with a little salt and pepper - just enough to wilt them.
• Serve hearty slices of the Wellington alongside the sautéed potatoes and wilted baby gems. A classic mustard vinaigrette makes a great dressing.