Name: Beef Meatballs with Tomato-Spinach Sauce & Creamy Polenta
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 ½ (142 g) pkg baby spinach; 1774 ½ ml chicken or vegetable broth; 3 (398 ml) cans diced tomatoes; 3 eggs; 1 ½ small pkgs fresh basil; 6 cloves garlic; 1.02 kg lean ground beef; 42 g Parmesan cheese; 1 ½ cups polenta (cornmeal); black pepper; butter, unsalted; oregano, dried; panko bread crumbs; salt; virgin coconut oil

Beef Meatballs with Tomato-Spinach Sauce & Creamy PolentaBeef Meatballs with Tomato-Spinach Sauce & Creamy Polenta — a 40-minute dinner recipe with 15 ingredients, serving 6.Ingredients

1 ½ (142 g) pkg baby spinach

1774 ½ ml chicken or vegetable broth

3 (398 ml) cans diced tomatoes

3 eggs

1 ½ small pkgs fresh basil

6 cloves garlic

1.02 kg lean ground beef

42 g Parmesan cheese

1 ½ cups polenta (cornmeal)

black pepper

butter, unsalted

oregano, dried

panko bread crumbs

salt

virgin coconut oil

Instructions

Wash and dry the fresh produce. (Skip the spinach if it came pre-washed.)

Add broth to a medium saucepan; cover and bring to a boil over high heat.

Finely grate 1 ½ cup of Parmesan and transfer to a small bowl.

Trim off and discard the root ends of the garlic; peel and mince or press the garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, ¾ of the Parmesan, ½ of the garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper; mix to combine.

Once the liquid is boiling, slowly add the polenta in a thin steady stream while whisking constantly until all the polenta is incorporated into the liquid. Turn the heat down to low and continue whisking until the polenta has thickened. Cover the polenta and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Preheat a sauté pan over medium-high heat.

While the pan heats up, form the beef mixture into 30 to 36 equal-sized meatballs and transfer to a plate.

Once the pan is hot, add coconut oil and swirl to coat the bottom.

Add the meatballs to the pan; cook, turning occasionally, until they are browned but not cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a bowl, leaving the drippings in the pan.

While the meatballs cook, pick the basil leaves off the stems; discard the stems and slice the leaves into a chiffonade by stacking them and rolling tightly into a cigar, then slicing crosswise into thin ribbons.

Once the meatballs have been transferred, add the remaining garlic and the diced tomatoes to the pan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and crush some of the tomatoes with a potato masher; season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the pan and stir in about ¾ of the basil ribbons (save the rest for garnishing); cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Roughly chop the spinach leaves and stir into the meatball and sauce mixture.

Add butter to the polenta and season with salt and pepper; stir to combine.

To serve, divide the polenta between bowls, top with the meatballs and tomato sauce, and garnish with the remaining basil and Parmesan. Enjoy!

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