The Chief Commentator claims this is a 10/10 and quite possibly the best meal I've ever made. He went so far as to ask for it a second time this week... which is awesome - but also a little insulting, since I've slaved for hours over things like Beef Wellington, and this is um - not that difficult. Also, I have made it before, and it did not receive this much praise.. maybe he was just hungry?
It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe. Years! and in that time period - I have fallen out of being the primary cook in our house, to the back up. In becoming the back up - I tend to cook the same things, over and over and over again. Lately - I've been trying to mix it up a little more, because I am tired of the same old steamed veggies, and green salad -I've been branching out. Also, on Sunday, I scored an entire case of Roma Tomatoes for $5.50 - which means we are eating a lot of things with tomatoes this week... and I love anything with a tomato base - plus I had 4 dozen eggs which I forgot I bought... so this seemed like a no brainer.
I have no idea were this one originally came from - it's just cut out of a magazine and pasted in one of the books I made in my late teens early twenties, with a little note from me that said "cook eggs all the way". Back when I cut this out - the ONLY way I would eat my eggs was hard poached / hard boiled, so that makes a lot of sense... I've slightly graduated to medium now.
Recently we have gone on a diet. Let me rephrase that - We have made a change in how we eat, so that we don't gain as much weight, but still try to eat foods that we enjoy in moderation. Part of this "change" is also being mindful of what we put in our mouth - so at the end of the recipe, I will include calorie portion. - Serves 4. Let me just say - it eats like a meal that is twice as calorie dense. So satisfying and has so much satiety.
Meatballs -
1 pound chicken ground
2 teaspoons cumin ground
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (mint or basil works too if you hate cilantro)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic.
Prep: I put the cilantro, garlic, and spices in the food processor and pulse it until I have a nice consistency, then I mix it by hand into the ground chicken. (I grind my own chicken breasts - but store bought works well too. ) Then I roll them into meat balls about the size of a large super ball (about 1 inch). This part can be done ahead of time. I make several dishes with chicken meat balls, so I grind all the chicken at once, and portion out different bowls to be spiced and mixed - make the meatballs, and then freeze them in a vacuum bag. But if you do it fresh - it works great too and only takes about 10 minutes to make them.
Sauce -
1 tablespoon butter (salted/unsalted your choice) I use Ghee because I have it on hand.
1 cup white onion - small chop (bigger than a diced, but smaller than a rough chop)
2 green bell peppers - small chop
6 roma tomatoes - rough chop
3 oz tomato paste
1 tablespoon garlic- minced
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cumin ground
1 cup Beef or Vegetable Bouillon/broth (don't use chicken)
6 oz cheap white wine (or use extra bouillon/broth) - but I like the acid the wine adds.
8 large eggs (I did the recipe calculation with 8. If you want to drop 78 calories per serving, use only one egg per person. I like eggs.
To garnish:
1/4 Cup rough chopped cilantro (or basil or mint)
fancy sea salt
cracked pepper
Other things to know - This dish does best in a pot/pan that is wide rather than tall. I have a very large skillet that I use, but a paella pan would also work killer for this. The more eggs you add, the wider you want that pan.
Method:
1) Make the meatballs and set aside.
2) Melt the butter over medium heat in a your pan.
3) Add the onion and bell peppers and sauté for about 5-7 minutes (you want soft and starting to turn translucent).
4) Add the garlic, the cumin, and pepper, continue stirring and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.
5) Add the tomato paste and mix really well, then add the chopped tomatoes.
6) Add the broth, give it a good mix, and turn the heat to high. Add in your meat balls, and cover your pan and cook for about 6 minutes. After the 6 minutes are up. Take tongs and flip each of the balls over in the sauce - remove lid and turn back to medium high heat - cook for 6 more minutes. Avoid stirring during this time, you want the meat balls to get firm so they don't break apart. The sauce will begin to thicken.
7) Gently stir and move the meat balls around in the sauce - in doing so make wells for the eggs. If you are doing 4, it's pretty easy to find space, if you are doing 8, try moving the balls around to use them as dividers.
8) Crack the eggs into the wells. Do not touch anything in the pan. Put the lid back on.
If you want your eggs runny - cook about 1 minute medium high heat, then shut off heat and leave for about 30 seconds. You want the white to be firm, if it's not quite there, leave it a little longer.
If you want your eggs more medium (How I like mine) Cook for 2 1/2 minutes covered. Shut off heat and leave the lid on for about 90 seconds.
Once you are happy with the consistency of your eggs - sprinkle the dish with the chopped cilantro.
Plate the meal with 1-2 eggs per person, and 1/4 of the meat balls. Offer the fancy salt at the table for people to adjust the saltiness themselves. Depending on the broth/bouillon you select, salt content varies.
Calories per serving: 353 (with 2 eggs/serving) 275 (with 1 egg/serving
Fat 12.9g
Carbs 16.4g
Fiber 4g
Protein 34.2
