Asian Meatballs with Tomato-Ginger Chutney

Asian Meatballs with Tomato-Ginger Chutney
Makes 50 meatballs

After the success of my birthday meatballs, I felt inclined to put an Asian spin on my winning recipe for Jor’s Indian-esque buffet. In place of basil and parsley, cilantro. Instead of ketchup and Parmesan, red chili paste and ginger. Read the original post here.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

3 large shallots, minced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus 1/4 cup
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp roasted red chili paste*
3 tbsp fresh chopped ginger
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
8 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1lb ground beef
1lb ground veal
1lb ground pork

Tomato-Ginger Chutney

Ingredients
2 large onions
6 garlic cloves minced
3 tbsp fresh chopped ginger
1 28-ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp roasted red chili paste*
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

*use 2-3 tbsp of the Thai Kitchen brand. Don’t add as much if using a more authentic brand, since it might be a lot spicier.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and fold them together thoroughly with your hands.

Roll the meat mixture into 1 ½ inch balls and place them next to each other on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil. They can be fairly close together, as they will not expand like cookies.

Bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until tops have browned and the meatballs are cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or saucepan, sauté the onions until translucent and soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and the ginger and cook for an additional two minutes. Carefully pour in the tomatoes, salt, chili paste, and cumin and stir to combine. Simmer over medium heat for ten minutes, until the mixture has thickened. Add the vinegar and simmer for another few minutes.

Puree the sauce in a food processor or using an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in half the cilantro and use the remaining leaves for garnish.

To serve, place the meatballs in a shallow bowl next to the tomato chutney and some torn naan. Let guests create naan meatball sandwiches, or just use toothpicks for dipping the balls in the chutney.