Meatballs, Sherry, and Potatoes

Originally published on March 4, 2015

Sherry is one of the ingredients that I’ve ventured into using just recently. It’s no more expensive than a regular bottle of wine, but it does bring a distinct something to any dish it’s added to. Wanting to know more about it, I was in luck to find that, along with this recipe, The Recipe Encyclopedia also includes a small tidbit on sherry, saying that it’s “a fortified wine usually served before dinner. Both dry sherry and sweet sherry are used in sauces, stews, and in chicken dishes, when it’s usually added just before serving.” Well this recipe doesn’t add it right at the end of cook time, but it does give the option of either sweet or dry sherry. I used dry sherry, as well as quartered regular potatoes rather the new potatoes that were called for.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork 
1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika, plus 1 teaspoon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry or sweet sherry
1 cup chicken stock
5 small potatoes, quartered

Directions:

1.) Combine meat, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parsley, garlic, and 2 teaspoons paprika in a medium bowl and mix well. Using wet hands, roll the mixture into meatballs the size of walnuts.

2.) Heat the oil and butter in a medium pan; add meatballs. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until well browned. Remove from pan; drain.

3.) Add onion, 1 teaspoon paprika, and flour to pan and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add sherry and stock gradually to pan, stirring until mixture is smooth. Stir constantly over medium heat 2 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens.

4.) Return meatballs to pan, add potatoes. Cover, cook over low heat for 20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the potatoes are tender. During the last minute of cooking, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup fresh parsley, and stir.

5.) Serve and enjoy!