Moroccan Meatball Stew

Meatballs

There’s always a Next Big Thing in the food business. Some endure, like cupcakes. Some try to make it, like pie, but never actually get there. Some are short-lived, like macaroons.

The next TNBT is not going to be a dessert. And it won’t be some momentary flash in the pan.

It’s going to be meatballs.

Meatballs? Really?

They’re too traditional, you say? Been around forever?

No matter. Whether you grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs with red sauce for supper or feasted on Swedish meatballs at a cocktail party and you think that’s the limit, hear this: several new “meatball” restaurants have opened up and flourished in the last two years. The first, the trendsetter, is the amazingly popular “Meatball Shop,” now in three locations in New York City and with a just-published Meatball Cookbook. There’s also “Meatballs” in Washington, D.C. and “The Meatball Factory” in Manhattan, with such tantalizing picks as Turducken Meatballs or Pork-Mascarpone-Chili Paste Meatballs and even Vegan Meatballs.

Meatballs are justifiably popular now. For one thing, they are supremely comforting, which is no small feat in a down economy. And they offer warmth and nourishment during the dreadfully cold days of winter.

But more to the culinary point, whether they are Italian Polpette, Turkish Kofte, Spanish Albondigas or some inventive, modern, cross-cultural version, meatballs are adaptable enough to appeal to almost everyone. Made not merely with the familiar ground beef, for example, but also with pork, lamb, veal, chicken or turkey. And while this may sound like an oxymoron, there are meatless meatballs made with chopped vegetables, cooked whole grains and eggs.

Mix-ins for meatballs are the stuff of mood, fantasy, taste and temperament. You can be as inventive as you wish, the way we’ve become with so many foods. Traditional “American” meatballs usually include breadcrumbs, eggs and seasonings and sometimes grated cheese, but there are few limits to what’s appropriate. If you like Middle Eastern flavors, try ground lamb meatballs with fresh mint and coriander, ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne pepper. For a Chinese style meatball, combine ground pork with chopped scallions, water chestnuts, fresh ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce. A Thanksgiving Reminder meatball could include ground turkey (or chicken) and leftover cooked turkey (or chicken) if there is any, plus dried cranberries, wild mushrooms and bread cubes.

Some like meatballs soft and tender – add ingredients such as eggs, milk, stock, ketchup, tomato sauce, beer and such. But for firmer meatballs consider including a higher proportion of breadcrumbs, oats and other like starches. Cheese adds both taste and texture changes. Grated Parmesan is sharp and firming; ricotta is blander, creamier, softer.

Meatballs offer even more versatility if you serve them with a sauce of some kind. Like Bolognese or Marinara for a typical Italian style meatball, Tahini Sauce or Tzadiki for a Moroccan lamb meatball or a wild mushroom ragout for a Veggie meatball.

But even without sauce there are other factors adding to variety, namely the endless number of ways to serve the meatballs. We all know how terrific these things are on top of spaghetti, polenta or rice. And in a meatball sandwich, like the classic “Hero,” with polpette on Italian bread. But there’s also lamb meatballs tucked inside a pita pocket or turkey meatballs with hummus or guacamole on a crusty roll, to name just a couple.

You can add meatballs to a salad or use them as an add-on for pizza.

Or drop some into vegetable soup or clear both.

Or serve small meatballs for sliders or as an hors d’oeuvre. Or large ones as an entrée.

Meatballs are most adaptable when they’re about the size of a walnut, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. To keep them tender it’s important not to handle the meat mixture too much – a problem for people who roll the meat around in their palms in order to get that perfect round. Hint: shape the balls with cold, wet hands; it goes more quickly.

Mavens often argue about how to cook meatballs. Do you fry them? Roast them? Poach? The answer is, whichever you like and depending on how you’ll serve them. Fried and roasted meatballs shed their fat during cooking, which helps if you’ll be putting them in a sauce. But an uncooked meatball works best for soup, where the meat can poach to tenderness.

There’s yet one more meatball bonus: they freeze well, so you can make them in bulk and freeze batches to use on days when you’re too busy to cook.