Winter fare can have so many truly wonderful qualities. It can be filling, flavorful, warming and comforting. Sadly, it can also be heavy, fattening, and make you want to crawl under the couch cushions for a nap. What to do? Both components of this recipe are lessons in trusting simple solutions to not so simple problems. When it comes to meatballs, especially gluten free meatballs, those problems can be daunting. The secret to great traditional meatballs is in the panade—a paste made from soaking stale bread or breadcrumbs in a dairy base—but gluten free bread (even the best you can find) doesn’t hold up to that process very well. It can leave the finished product dense, dry, crumbly, and overall, not very appealing. On top of that, any Italian grandmother worth her wooden spoons will tell you that even the most modest tomato sauce is an hours-long commitment. To guide us through these culinary conundrums, we found two top-notch sources: Cook’s Illustrated, and the late, great Marcella Hazan. (Sorry, Alton, we still love you.)
For the tomato sauce, we used Ms. Hazan’s famous recipe. Four ingredients and 45 minutes are all you need for this lush, impossibly flavorful sauce. Of course, not being able to leave well enough alone, Kyle threw in a little red wine vinegar and fresh oregano, because why not? Actually, they added just the right herbaceous and bright notes to the finished sauce and it complemented the meatballs beautifully.
Speaking of the meatballs, Cook’s Illustrated had an unconventional solution to the “gluten free” problem. In their monumental resource guide “How Can It Be Gluten Free?”—which if you don’t have already, you should go buy now—they suggest using dehydrated potato flakes in place of the bread. We balked at the thought at first, because instant potatoes are for suckers, right? However, the suggestion was, at the very least, too weird not to try. Well, we never should have doubted them, because in this context, those flaky little angels are a marvel. Who knew? (Aside from the geniuses at Cook’s Illustrated, of course.)
Seriously, the baked meatballs held their shape perfectly, even in the sauce. They were fork tender and moist on the inside. You would never guess that they were gluten free.
The use of ground chicken in place of the more traditional (also heavier and more expensive) beef and pork gave these meatballs all of the “wonderful” qualities that we love about winter fare, and none of the sad, regrettable ones. Plus, in the time it takes to cook the tomato sauce, you can have the meatballs mixed, shaped, baked and ready for a tomato-y swim. How’s that for weight and time management? Done and done.
Serve this lovely pairing alone, over gluten free pasta, or even better, over a pool of rich, creamy polenta. Unless you eat it all in one sitting (What? It could happen. *whistles innocently*), you won’t feel anything but happy and fed after the last bite, and the only reason you’ll have for crawling under the couch cushions is to look for spare change or the Apple TV remote (again. *sigh*) Buon Appetito!
Meatball technique adapted from The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook.
Tomato Sauce adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
- Sauce:
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced in half
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- a sprig of fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Meatballs:
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup instant potato flakes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- dash red pepper flake
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- For the sauce, put the tomatoes, onion, butter, oregano and red wine vinegar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer gently for at least 45 minutes (or while you prep and bake the meatballs), stirring occasionally and crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- For the meatballs, whisk together the buttermilk, egg yolk, and potato flakes in a large bowl. Add minced garlic, salt, and red and black pepper and stir to combine. Add chicken and knead until mixture is just combined. Form mixture into 2 ½ -inch meatballs .
- Place meatballs on a large baking dish that is coated with olive oil. Bake until meatballs are just cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Remove the onion and oregano sprig from the tomato sauce and add the meatballs. Gently stir to combine, then serve sauce and meatballs over pasta or polenta.
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