Beef meatballs in Green pepper sauce w/ Sultana raisin Millet

Meatballs

1 lb Ground beef

1 lb Ground pork 

1 tbsp jerk seasoning

2 oz Frozen bacon ( fine diced)

1/2 tsp dried chili chopped

salt/ seasoning salt (to taste)**

Fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)**

Green Pepper Sauce

1 Bay leaf

2 Whole Green peppers

2 Whole Cloves of garlic (peeled)

1/3 cup Coconut Milk

Kosher Salt (to taste)

Fresh cracked Black Pepper (to taste)

Corn Starch (for slurry to thicken sauce)***

Water

Millet with sultana raisins

1 cup Millet

2 cups water

Salt ( to taste)

Pepper( to taste)

1/4 cup Sultana raisins

Equipment

1 med sized Saucepan

1 med size Saute Pan

1 blender or robot coupe or magic bullet

1 mixing bowl

1 cutting board

tasting spoons

Hi guys! So I knocked up these yummy meatballs after I got home from a long day. I had some left over jerked ground meat from making burgers over the weekend and about another pound in a package in the fridge that I also defrosted the day before. I cut the bacon into fine dice pieces and combined both meats together then seasoned them with a little bit of kosher salt, cracked pepper & some seasoning salt;a necessary ingredient in Caribbean kitchens. I left the meat to sit for a little while as I started to get the sauce ready.

The green peppers were cut open, I removed the seeds and that white pit inside of the pepper that tends to be bitter was cut out as well. Roughly chop the peppers and throw them in a blender with the garlic, I put a tiny amount of water just to get it going, you can use oil. While that was blending, I put my saucepan on the stove to get warm, then I poured the blended liquid into the pan, season with a little salt and pepper and bring it to a simmer.

Once that started to warm up I began to roll my balls about 1 1/2 inches thick, then I dropped them into the sauce, placed a lid on it and let it go on a medium heat. In about fifteen minutes check your meatballs and sauce, I then added in the coconut milk, and the slurry(cornstarch & water mix) to get a slightly thick consistency, you want it to just coat the meatballs*.

Put your saute pan on the heat, med to high temperature, then add your millet and toast for 5 minutes. I added a bit of black pepper to toast with the millet to give it a slight kick later on. The millet should get slightly golden brown and have an aromatic smell to it. Once you can smell that, add the water slowly, please be careful as the pan will be hot. Bring the millet up to a boil, then turn the heat to low/med cover for 10-15 minutes, check after 12 minutes. Try not to disturb it too much or else you will crush the millet and make it soggy. Once that's done pour the millet into a bowl, fluff it with a fork like you do couscous and add the sultana's.

Millet can get very dry and is best served hot, if you have enough left back for the next day, just add some water/stock to it, this will help it out a bit

For a quick brainstorm and last minute dinner, they were great. I really liked the fresh taste of the pepper sauce with a little hint of coconut milk and the slight taste of black pepper with the sweet sultana's.

* If you are concerned about the color of the sauce because the meatballs are cooked in the sauce then you can get some coconut oil in a pan and cook them separately. You can do this to keep the sauce bright, green and vibrant

** Not every one's taste buds are the same so I cant put a measurement on salt and pepper, remember to taste as you go and keep your station clean

*** A slurry is a typical thickening agent for sauces & soups. You as a cook determine how strong you want your thickener to be so put your cornstarch into a bowl then add how much water you feel necessary, a ratio of 1 part cornstarch to 1/2 part water is okay. Make sure you whisk it properly or else you will have lovely corn starch lumps in your sauce and soup.

Please leave a comment if you tried this recipe out, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Sorry there is no picture, I'm working on setting that up for the future