Zesty Meatloaf Meatballs

by Claudia McCants

About thirty years ago, I purchased a cookbook called The Slim Gourmet that featured a meatloaf with grated carrots and horseradish. It became a family favorite, but over the years I have made my own changes to the recipe. One main change was when I decided to use canned carrots instead of grated carrots. This change occurred when my son was little and I needed to make the carrots invisible to his all-seeing eyes. I actually like using the pureéd carrots because they mix into the meat a lot easier. We also like the flavor of horseradish, so I increased the amount we use. I have found that one tablespoon of horseradish per pound of meat works well, although we sometimes add more to please my family's tastes.

What people have alway loved the most about my meatloaf is that it is very moist, mostly because of the pureéd carrots. However, this can sometimes make it difficult to slice. I recently learned something completely new to me about making meatballs from watching "somebody" on the Food Network, and also when the technique was repeated by Lidia Bastianich on Lidia's Italy. That concept was cooking raw meatballs in spaghetti sauce instead of browning them ahead of time. My mother is a light eater and rarely eats an entire slice of meatloaf, so the idea of using the meatloaf recipe for meatballs came to mind.

We like Meatloaf Meatballs so much that I doubt we'll ever make meatloaf in a pan again.




Ingredients:

1 Tab olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 can sliced carrots, drained
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tab prepared horseradish (bottled variety)
2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 large cans tomato sauce

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a medium-sized sauté pan. Add minced onion and cook over medium heat until they are translucent but not browned. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

In a large bowl, use potato masher or hand mixer to pureé carrots. Add egg, seasoned bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, tomato sauce and horseradish. Mix well. Add ground beef and combine with other ingredients.

Bring tomato sauce to boil. You can use flavored sauce or you can use spaghetti sauce. (We prefer plain tomato sauce, like you would normally use for a meatloaf, since this is not intended to be Italian meatballs and we want the horseradish flavor to stand out.)

Shape meatballs into desired size. DO NOT brown the meatballs ahead of time. When you put the raw meatballs into the sauce, they will absorb the tomato sauce as they cook.

Put the meatballs into the sauce and allow the sauce to return to the boiling point; then turn back heat to low and allow meatballs to simmer. They will be fully cooked in about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of meatball.

Adapting my meatloaf recipe to meatballs has made it possible for my mother to regulate how much she wants on her plate. It would also be a good solution for feeding children who might prefer a meatball over a slice of meatloaf.

Meatloaf meatballs are great served on egg noodles or with a side of mashed potatoes.