What to do when you are craving a slowly wine braised meat or coq au vin in this cold weather but simply don’t have the time or energy? This red wine braised meatballs and cheesy polenta recipe still takes an hour to make, but it has the flavor of something that has been slowly cooking away on the stovetop for hours. You know I am a huge meatball fan, because more often than not it is a way to shorten the cooking time, because ground meat already means that it is going to get juicy. This time we are making chicken meatballs, because I was inspired by Julia Child’s Coq au vin recipe, but I believe that you can use any other meat as well.
I was having doubts, as to whether to serve these red wine braised chicken meatballs with mashed potatoes or polenta or maybe spaghetti. I decided against traditional pasta, because I wanted to make something extra special. Sometimes a Monday night is all the reasoning you need to make a fancy meal. So I went ahead and decided to chose polenta. What makes polenta even better, is when you add cheese to it. This is a rich and hearty meal, a definite dinner material. What makes it even better is extra grated parmesan and parsley on top. While there are countless slow-cooker versions for this that would take you away from the labor of slowly simmering the sauce on the stove. I decided that a quicker weeknight version would work better. Also, you don’t have to make super large meatballs like I did, you can make mini versions too.
To make a flavorful sauce you need good meat, garlic, pepper, onions all browned to perfection in some good olive oil and butter. While for a coq au vin you would usually ad mushrooms, I just stuck to good old carrot, celery, onion and tomato paste sauce base. To make it even richer you could swap the water for chicken broth. But I like to really use a lot of wine when cooking with it. Not just a couple of tablespoons, but half a bottle at least. The meatballs themselves are freezer friendly and could be made with any marinara sauce or tomato sauce for a pasta dinner later on. Nothing beats a good simmered sauce with chopped veggies over medium heat. I am often too impatient to make such things. But trust me, it is so worth it. Now go make these red wine braised meatballs and cheesy polenta!
Red wine braised meatballs and cheesy polenta
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 500 g ground chicken
- 3 –5 tbsp cornmeal or breadcrumbs
- 300 g baby carrots or regular carrots halved if large
- 2 red onions peeled and quartered
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 400 ml red wine
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp sugar
- Water as needed
- 1 cup polenta
- ½ cup grated parmesan pecorino, or grana padano
- 2 tbsp butter for cooking
Instructions
- Preheat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, minced garlic, oregano, paprika, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, black pepper, red pepper flakes, dried basil, and 3–5 tbsp cornmeal or breadcrumbs. Mix until evenly combined.
- Shape the mixture into uniform meatballs, approximately 2–3 cm in diameter. Roll each meatball lightly in flour, coating all sides. Set aside on a plate.
- Prepare the vegetables: peel and quarter the onions, trim and halve the carrots if needed, and chop the celery into uniform pieces.
- Add 2 tbsp butter to the preheated Dutch oven and allow it to melt fully.
- Place meatballs in the pot in a single layer, without overcrowding.
- Brown each side for about 4 minutes, turning carefully with tongs to maintain shape. Remove the meatballs and place them on a plate.
- Add the prepared vegetables to the pot.
- Roast for 5-8 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables from the pot
- Pour 400 ml red wine and 3 tbsp tomato paste into the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 2 tsp salt and 4 tsp sugar, stirring to combine.
- Return the meatballs to the pot and top with the roasted vegetables.
- Add 400 ml water, cover the pot, and cook on low for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the polenta according to package instructions.
- Stir ½ cup grated cheese into the cooked polenta.
- Serve the meatballs and vegetables over the cheesy polenta.
Notes
If you are looking for another good meatball recipe, try these two soups too!