11 July, 2012
Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto
Posted in : Beef, Paleo on by : wendland99Thanks to EveryDayPaleo for this: http://everydaypaleo.com/2012/06/29/sun-dried-tomato-meatballs-with-creamy-pesto/
I promised folks over on my Facebook page to have this post up yesterday, which obviously did not happen, and for that I apologize. Darn three kids, two dogs, and one husband, always getting in the way of me and my timely blog posts. What’s a girl to do….
Anyhow; here I am now, at my computer typing away while my jetlagged children are still asleep so now’s my chance! However, today’s the day I will make them wake up before 11am so that we get back on track!!! So, wish me luck as I’m sure that my Friday will be a day filled with grumpy Fragoso boys, just in time for my book signing tomorrow at the Coscto in Sacramento!! Hopefully we’ll all be bright eyed and bushy tailed by then.
Alright, on to the food! We came home from vacation to a box of Sun Dried Tomatoes, generously given to us by Mooney Farms, creators of Bella Sun Luci products. Here’s the crazy thing, this huge brand name that I have seen everywhere from the Safeway in Maui to Costco’s around the country, is based right here in little ol’ Chico. I have never tried their products before but I’m so happy to learn more about them. These folks actually care about the food they produce and everything from their drying process (the tomatoes are actually SUN dried, like the name implies) to their olive oil (no tainted stuff here, this is the real deal, and delicious!)
So with a jar of the Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes with Italian Herbs, I created these yummy meatballs along with a sun dried tomato creamy pesto sauce. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds…. In fact Rowan was the meatball thief at dinner and we cracked up as he gobbled down his meatballs and swiped John’s last meatball off of his plate. Wish I would have got a picture of that….
Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto
2 lbs ground beef
2 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
½ cup minced sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 -3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Creamy Pesto
1 cup walnut halves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups fresh basil leaves
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes
½ cup coconut cream (Chill overnight one 13.5oz can of full fat coconut milk like Native Forest brand and the cream will solidify on the top, scoop this out to measure your 1/2 cup of coconut cream. Save what’s left for a soup or curry.)
1. Preheat your oven to 375.
2. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together EXCEPT for the coconut oil and shape into golf ball size meatballs.
3. Heat a skillet over medium to medium high heat and add the tablespoon of coconut oil. Once the oil is melted and the skillet is hot, add the meatballs. Brown the meatballs on all sides in the hot pan.
4. If your skillet is oven safe, cover it and transfer to the oven and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes. If the skillet is NOT oven safe, move the meatballs to a large baking dish, cover and cook in the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes.
5. While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the pesto as instructed below.
6. To a food processor or blender add the walnuts, olives, garlic, and salt and process until smooth.
7. Add the remaining pesto ingredients and process again until smooth. I promise this pesto does not taste like coconut milk pesto – the coconut cream adds a delicious creaminess that this pesto is asking for; you won’t be disappointed….
To serve, spoon some of the pesto over the meatballs. I served our meatballs with pesto sauce over some sauteed zucchini. Delicious!!
