Photo: Bonnie's Italian Stew Recipe
Bonnie is a lady I met in Pittsburgh, PA and this recipe is based on her enthusiastic description of a family favorite passed down to her. It's meat and potatoes Italian style - meatballs and potatoes in red sauce with green beans. YUM-O! Bonnie cooks the meatballs as dumplings in in sauce. I brown mine a bit in the oven first to make them a little more stable for a make ahead meal - they won't break up as easily with a crust on them when you reheat them.
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- Whole milk, enough to just cover bread
- Two 1-inch slices good-quality white bread, crust trimmed
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- About 1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- About 3 tablespoons EVOO
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- A generous handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil cooking spray
Stew:
- 2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more for serving
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 medium onions, chopped1 fresh bay leaf
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 to 2 cups beef stock
- Two 28-ounce cans Italian tomatoes
- A handful fresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 pounds small to medium white or red skinned potatoes, cubed
- 12 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds on an angle
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
For the meatballs:
Pour the milk over bread and soak to soften.
Place the meat in a mixing bowl and add the cheese, EVOO, fennel, crushed red pepper, garlic, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and crumble into crumbs as you add it to the meat. Combine the meatball mix and roll into 2-inch balls. Place the meatballs on nonstick baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray and roast until browned but not fully cooked, 10 to 12 minutes.
For the stew:
Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions and bay, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and stir until fragrant. Add the beef stock and tomatoes, then break up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add the basil, potatoes and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat back to medium, partially cover and cook 10 minutes. Add the green beans and cook 7 to 8 minutes more.
Serve, or cool completely and store for make-ahead meal. Reheat over a medium-low flame, partially covered, stirring occasionally (or reheat in a 325 degree F oven) until sauce is bubbly.
To serve, top shallow bowls of stew with cheese and an extra drizzle of EVOO.
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By jaimemcewen_120...
viera, fl
on April 11, 2013
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This is a great stew recipe! It is nice because it is different. My kids like to eat this stew. I have made the stew two differerent ways. I have made it with the ground beef for the meatballs and green beans, which you could definitly add more green beans. I have also made the meatballs with ground chicken and turkey sausage and spinach instead of green beans. Both ways are very good!
By CLShearn
Chicago, IL
on September 30, 2012
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This is an excellent recipe. Watched this episode with my kids, who said, "Can you make this?" I made just two changes. Rather than use potatoes and green beans, I roasted one pound of carrots and one pound of parsnips. I then added them at the same time as the meatballs. Thank you Rachael!
By chefmichellej
on September 17, 2012
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This was a great comfort stew. I normally do not stray from a recipe but I wanted more out of this stew. Instead of the 1-2 cups of beef broth, I added 4 cups of low-sodium beef broth. This thinned out the stew, provided more portions & helped me control salt content. It's easier to add than take it away. Instead of 2 lbs potatoes, I added only 1 lb 1 inch diced potatoes & 1 lb 1/2 inch sliced carrots. I totally omitted the green beans and added 3 cans drained cannellini beans. I added meatballs once carrots & potatoes were fork tender as my meatballs were done in the 12 minutes in the oven. My garnish was grated parmesan cheese & fresh minced parsley. Italian toast plus an ice cold glass of pino grigio! My husband had 3 bowls & told me to leave the pot out so he could have more later!
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