Name: Spicy Meatballs with Cheese Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 small onion, chopped; 1/3 cup (75 g) butter; 4 tsp brown sugar; 4 tsp sweet paprika; 4 tsp chili powder; 2 tsp dry mustard; 2 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper; 3/4 lb (340 g) lean ground beef; 3/4 lb (340 g) lean ground pork; 1/2 cup (65 g) breadcrumbs; 3 tbsp (45 ml) milk; 1 egg; 1/4 cup (35 g) unbleached all-purpose flour; 2 cups (500 ml) beef broth; 1 tsp cornstarch; 1 cup (250 ml) milk; 2 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp flour; 1 1/2 cups (150 g) yellow cheddar cheese, grated; A few drops yellow food colouring (optional); A few drops red food colouring (optional)

Preparation

In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, brown the onion in 1 tbsp of the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl. Let cool.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and spices. Reserve 1 tbsp of the mixture for the pan sauce.
Add the ground beef and pork, breadcrumbs, milk, egg and spice mix to the onions. Season with salt. Mix thoroughly.
Shape each meatball with about 1 tbsp of the mixture. Set aside on a plate. You should end up with approximately 50 meatballs.
In the same non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meatballs, half at a time, in ¼ cup (55 g) of the butter until nicely browned on all sides. Set aside on another plate.
6. Sprinkle the flour over the hot fat in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture turns golden brown. Whisk in the broth and reserved spices and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs. Cover and gently simmer for about 5 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce thickens. Keep warm.

Cheese Sauce

In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the milk. Set aside.
In a small pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the flour, stirring with a whisk. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk mixture and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Adjust the seasoning. If desired, add a few drops of food colouring to give the sauce an even deeper orange hue.
To serve, place the meatballs in bowls. Drizzle with the cheese sauce.

Comments

Shirley S.

October 25th, 2017

I really like the idea of cooking meatballs in the oven-can turn 1/2 thru cooking--have done this a few times--lot cleaner process, and satisfied with result =maybe might be better browned stovetop, but less work is better. Love the flavour combo
Joanne E. L.

3 stars May 12th, 2016

The meatballs are great, and the cheese sauce is also very good, BUT...put together, this dish is far, far too rich! Make the cheese sauce for vegetables or prepare for another casserole of macaroni and cheese, but it really does not help the meatballs! When I prepared this as a main course, I doubled the meat mixture and ended up with 26 meatballs. I found the preparation to be a lot of work for the final results.Note that the meatball dish itself tastes better the next day. I would give this 3-1/2 stars.