Mostly spherical casserole
A love a good casserole and there were some excellent meatballs in this months meatballs. Casseroles are also an excuse for dumplings too. Thus, an all spherical dinner! Also a good excuse to use up a slightly aging red pepper and an onion going a bit soft too.
You will need
- 200g of self-raising flour
- 100g of suet or cold butter
- Half a large onion, diced
- A stick of celery, finely diced
- A red pepper, sliced
- A pack of meatballs
- A squirt of tomato puree
- Half a stock cube
- A small glass of red wine
- A fat clove of garlic fine sliced
A handful of little tomatoes
Do
- Soften the celery, onion and garlic in a couple of teaspoons of oil (I used the oil from a jar of sundryed tomatos)
- Add the pepper and tomatoes amd cook for another few minutes
- Add the stock, wine and a mug full of hot water, bring to a gentle boil then pop it in the oven at 160 for an hour or so
- Add the meatballs to the top and put back in the oven for 20 minutes
- Mix the flour and suet with a good griding of black pepper and a good pinch of salt
- Add enough cold water to bind and form into balls a little smaller than golf balls
- Add to the casserole, remove the lid and return to th oven for 20 minutes or so.
- Serve once the dumplings are risen and golden, the liquid mostly gone.
Result
The long cook liberates a lot of the fat from the meatballs, resulting in a rich velvet sauce. The pepper and slow cooked onions give a real sweetness. The sphericality is pleasing.
No inprogress pictures sorry. Also, my cameraphone appears to be getting worse with time.