Pork and Fennel Meatballs

Feeling a little inspired after my meatball bonanza at Baduzzi, I wanted to cook up one of my favourite dishes: pork and fennel meatballs. I know meatballs might seem like a rich, wintery dish- but they don't have to be. Serve up your meatballs with zucchini ribbons, or on a bed of rocket to make it into a perfectly easy summer dinner.

This recipe is a winner, and for a while I made it pretty much every week. Now I have gotten the girls at work onto it too, and they all agree that it's a keeper.

Pork and Fennel Meatballs (adapted from a Jamie Oliver member recipe)

approx. 450 grams pork mice
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper

Mix all above ingredients (excluding the pork) in a mortar and pestle, to form a rough, dry, paste. In a bowl, gently combine with the pork to mix through.

Roll small handfuls of the mixture into balls, about the size of a large walnut.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/2 brown onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
400g tin of chopped tomatoes

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, and brown meatballs all over (do not cook through).
Remove the meatballs, and add the remaining olive oil, garlic and onions. Cook gently until soft, and beginning to colour.

Add the wine, and cook for 5 minutes of so, to de-glaze the pan and reduce the alcohol.

Add the tomatoes and the meatballs, and cook on a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced.

Meatballs traditionally are served with pasta, but if you're looking for a lighter option (summer's a -coming!), then they are also great served on blanched zucchini ribbons, which are easy enough to make with a grater or mandolin.

Garnish with some parsley, fresh fennel fronds (if you have them), and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Go on, give it a go. I promise they are good!

Baduzzi

Last Sunday we took Mumma down to Wynyard Quarter for her birthday lunch. Being a big fan of Italian food (well, a fan of most types of food actually), and a HUGE fan of meatballs I was pretty excited to head to the snazzy new Italian meatball restaurant Baduzzi.

The decor is fantastic and subtly retro, however, the outside seating feels a bit slapped together, so if I were you I'd head there for dinner, when you can sit inside and enjoy the atmosphere.

The menu is a fascinating blend of New Zealand and Italy, which we made the most of by starting off the Coromandel crayfish meatballs. Both these, and the wagyu meatballs that followed were incredible. And while I ever so slightly favoured the crayfish, the wagyu was amazing and cooked perfectly pink.

We followed the meatballs with the veal melanzane, the beetroot and paua tagiatelle, and the pulled milk fed goat. The melanzane was from the smaller 'picollo' menu (although all dishes seemed to be the same size), and it was one of my favourites. The beetroot tagiatelle definitely got the prize for being the prettiest, but after the intensity of the other dishes seemed somewhat underwhelming. Last of all was the goat, which was beautifully tender - yes goat can be tender, and sitting on a bed of creamy polenta.

To be honest, the food wasn't quite what I expected- I was imagining rustic, hearty, Italian food; slabs of bread and tables laid with checkered tablecloths, when instead, out comes dish after dish of beautifully refined and intricate dishes.

With a stomach full of meatballs, and a few wines deep, we weren't so keen on walking home. So, in true Auckland style, we put Sammy in Mum's bag and snuck into a taxi, just hoping he wouldn't bark and give himself away.

Baduzzi completely exceeded my expectations; the food is of an incredibly high standard, and the prices are very affordable. If you haven't been already, put Baduzzi at the top of your hit list, and head down there for dinner.

And remember to order the crayfish meatballs!

Taste of Auckland 2013

Over the weekend Victoria Park was transformed into a sea of white tents for the annual Taste of Auckland food festival. Sarah and I moseyed down on Friday afternoon, just as the sun decided to make a much appreciated appearance. Despite almost bursting at the seams after an indulgent afternoon at The Blue Breeze Inn, I had just enough room to fit in a few more dishes.

We started off wandering around the stalls sipping Ranga ginger-beer cocktails, before we bumped into some fellow food loving friends (although they may have been more interested in the wine...)

Our next stop was the Fisher and Paykel 'Perfect Roast' stall, where we were given a little sample of roast, along with a sheet of paper to guess what ingredients were used (pretty sure we nailed it!).

Along with all of the stalls, some of Auckland's best restaurants had food on offer. I started with oysters from Depot (spot Al Brown!), which were being shucked fresh for the hungry crowds of oyster addicts.

Next stop was Toto, where I went for the beautifully tender calamari, while Sarah chose the Porchetta slider. By this stage I was disappointedly full- so much food, so little room- so we went and sat down, listened to the live music, and gave our food time to digest.

For dessert Sarah chose some Petal cupcakes, along with some brownie to take home, while I went to the Fish restaurant stall to try their amazing dish of chocolate popcorn, dark chocolate marquise, popcorn icecream, popcorn milk, and caramel chocolate wafer.

By this time our precious sun had disappeared, our drinks were empty, and our stomachs so full we practically had to roll home.

I hope a lot of you managed to make it down to Taste, it was an awesome event, and I for one will definitely be back in 2014 for another evening of gourmet gluttony.

Summer BBQ - Recipe

After recently moving into a new house we invited some friends around for a BBQ on Saturday afternoon. While the boys went and bought a big pile of pre-cooked sausages and a ready-made salad, I decided the girls and I could do slightly better...

But first things first, we started off with some cocktails made up with gin, lime, cucumber, mint and ginger beer. This is a fantastic and refreshing cocktail that is dangerously easy to drink.

After a few drinks in the sun (note the sunburn lines), we were ready to cook up some Argentinian inspired BBQ food. First up I made some flatbreads using Jamie Oliver's recipe for Navajo Flatbead. As far as bread goes, this recipe is super easy; no yeast, no rising, and not a lot of technique to be honest! But they are very delicious, especially when cooked on a BBQ.

Next up was the salsa verde, the perfect accompaniment to this dish.

Salsa Verde

• A few handfuls of flat leaf parsley
• A couple of mint sprigs
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 anchovy fillet (or half of one if you're not so keen on them)
• A few good glugs of olive oil, or as much as needed

Either put all of the above ingredients in a food processor, and drizzle in olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency (like pesto), or chop everything up with a small amount of olive oil until very fine, then add to your serving dish with the remaining oil.

For the steak, I used rump, which I gave a little punch up to tenderise. However, for this kind of dish I would actually usually use a cut like skirt or hanger steak- a little tougher, but when tenderised, cooked to rare, then sliced up, it is very delicious. 

Either way, make sure you punch down the steak to tenderise, season very well, then cook on a smoking hot BBQ or stove for only a few minutes on each side. Leave to rest for about 5 minutes, and slice up to serve.

I like putting a dollop of salsa verde on a flatbread, along with a few slices of steak, to make little wraps. That, washed down with a beer or a cocktail in the warm summer sun and you have your afternoon BBQ sorted.