20: Braised Elk Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce / Thyme-Laced Potato & Carrot Torte / Steamed Broccoli

What a meal! I went to the gym, ran three miles, did some abs, and then biked another three miles from the gym to go shopping for jeans and a shirt. All I had to eat beforehand was a bowl of granola, so, needless to say, I was starving. I grabbed a smoothie from Robek’s, and I finally returned home a few hours after my intense workout. I was ready to eat, but I knew I had some serious prep work ahead of me as well as 90 minutes for the meatballs to cook.

I have to be honest here: I made a couple mistakes that would improve this dish. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but a couple tweaks to the recipe would have made it even better. I’ll italicize what I should have done below.

Anyways, elk is a heartier meat, low in fat and cholesterol, with a distinct rich flavor. I paired it with a potato and carrot torte as the starch, and steamed veggies to round out the meal. We drank HJ Fabre Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina – a luscious plum- and currant-rich red with smoky undertones.

In my famished state, the prep was intense for about 90 minutes. You could prep everything before starting to cook anything, but it would probably take longer than 2 hours and 15 minutes it took from start to finish the way I did it. Be sure to read through this a few times before deciding your plan of action.

Ingredients and Directions:

-1 lb ground elk

-2 large red potatoes, thinly sliced

-1 carrot, thinly sliced

-half a large onion, diced

-2 large tomatoes diced

-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-2 eggs, beaten and separated

-1 cup hearty red wine

-minced sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley (mix together but keep thyme separate)

-fresh grated cheese, optional (parmesan or grana padano)

-1/3 cup bread crumbs

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

To make the meatballs, combine elk, one beaten egg, salt, pepper, splash of olive oil, and bread crumbs in a large bowl. Mix well and use your hands to make meatballs. I was able to make 14 meatballs out of one pound of ground elk meat.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a Dutch oven, or at least 4 quart sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium heat in preparation of browning the elk meatballs. It should take about 10 minutes to brown the meat. Then transfer meatballs to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving behind all the oil in the pan.

Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté for a few minutes. Begin getting an 8 inch baking dish ready for the torte by coating the dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Arrange half the potatoes in a layer, slightly overlapping.  Add layer of egg wash. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of thyme to the bottom layer.

Add wine to onions and garlic, and cook wine for one minute. Add tomatoes and herbs, saving a couple pinches worth for garnish, to wine mixture now, and then add the meatballs back to the sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 90 minutes.

Now add the carrots to the torte and repeat with seasoning and egg wash. Repeat with top layer of potatoes, minus adding egg wash. Cover with foil. Cook the torte covered for about 30-40 minutes. Here’s where I could have tweaked the recipe the first time. Remove foil and use a spatula to flatten torte. My torte came out a little fluffy because I didn't flatten it. Cook for another 25 minutes.

I thought the meatballs could have been braised longer than 90 minutes, but the torte was definitely done, so I couldn’t cook the meatballs longer. I would recommend another 30-60 minutes to the meatballs before serving.

In the waning minutes of your torte cooking, start water for steaming broccoli. Add broccoli to pot as you begin to plate the torte and meatballs.

Serve everything, garnish with cheese (I didn't think the cheese made much of a difference because the sauce was already so flavorful.), a pinch of herbs, and enjoy!!