When I’m cooking for my friends on vacation, I generally start out with an ambitious plan, excitedly proclaiming something like, “We should roast a whole lamb outside in a fire pit!” But as soon as I’ve said it, I’ll realize the town we’re staying in doesn’t have a butcher shop, the kitchen only has one (dull) knife, and the house..uh..doesn’t have a fire pit. When that happens, I simply pivot to a dish I know will work under any circumstances, no matter how dinky the grocery store or limited the equipment. That’s right: I’m talking about meatballs.
I don’t mean the Italian-American variety that simmers for hours in red sauce. The meatballs I speak of are light and bright, loaded with fresh herbs and garlic, and swimming in a pot of brothy spring vegetables. It’s the ideal dish to make when you want an easy and meaty main course, but aren’t looking to spend hours on a braise or roast. And whether you’re shopping at a small local spot or a giant chain, most grocery stores will have what you need to make meatballs, which is a lot more than I can say about cooking a whole lamb.
The meatballs themselves are made of nothing more than ground meat (I like pork, lamb, beef, or a mix), onion, chopped herbs like chives or parsley, and a little yogurt to bind them. Spices like crushed fennel seed or black pepper are optional, but recommended. If you’re wondering where the breadcrumbs and egg are, well, they aren’t here—I told you, these are light!
I like to brown the meatballs in a large Dutch oven or pot, then add whatever spring-y vegetables I can get my hands on (which, if it’s not quite spring yet where you are, frozen peas are totally fine—don’t @ me!), and let that briefly simmer in some chicken or vegetable broth. And since I’m not trying to cook a keto-friendly meal for anyone ever, I also like to serve large bowls of cooked grains or tiny pasta such as fregola or Israeli couscous to ladle the brothy meatballs over. Torn pieces of crusty bread would also be an excellent substitute if you wanted to dunk and dip.
All that’s left to do is spoon everything into bowls and set out a few unfussy toppings: lemon wedges, some fresh herbs to scatter over, and yogurt for dolloping (you already bought both to make the meatballs, so why not?). It’s lazy, it’s impressive, it’s vacation food at it’s finest.
