Meatballs with sun-dried tomato cream, olives and capers

I just finished reading a book recommendation where the author says you learn to cook for love, to give pleasure, to please. Without love there is no cooking, only survival. And thesemeatballs with sun-dried tomato cream, olives and capers they are made with lots of love in the Le Creuset casserole. An ideal, durable piece for a lifetime. Perfect for making gentle-simmer recipes like this one.

From very simple to make, this recipe is one to show off. You will definitely need bread. You will need bread to mop up the plate with the remnants of the sun-dried tomato, caper and olive cream. It's an Italian-inspired recipe with very interesting, intense but not overpowering flavors. If you like, you can serve these meatballs with some long-grain basmati rice or even some roasted potatoes would go well.

With the Le Creuset Cocotte I was able to make the whole recipe from start to finish; The advantage of cocottes is that they're so beautiful you can serve them straight at the table. I used it together with Revol porcelain plates. The perfect table.

Revol plates from the No.W collection

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 250gr ground beef
• 250gr ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 90 gr bread crumbs (soft part)
• 2 tablespoons garlic and parsley breadcrumbs
• 100 ml milk (can be plant-based; I used oat)
• 50 g grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs for coating

For the cream:

• 200ml white wine
• 200ml water
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 2 tablespoons black Aragón olives with pit
• 1 tablespoon split seasoned green olives
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 large lemon (juice and zest for serving)
• 1/2 clove garlic
• fresh basil a bunch of about 20 gr.
• extra virgin olive oil

To serve:

• Chopped fresh basil, black olives and plenty of grated lemon zest

Preparation

1. To make the cream: In a food processor or blender jar, place the pitted and well-drained olives, the well-drained sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed capers, fresh basil and 1/2 clove garlic.
2. Blend for a few seconds until you get the consistency of a coarse cream. Set aside.
3. For the meatballs: In a bowl, soften the bread with the milk, squeeze it well with your hands to break it up. Transfer it to a bowl with the ground meat, the whole egg (no shell), the Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper, mix the mixture with your hands.
4. Finish giving the meatball mix its consistency by adding two tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Form 25 g balls with the mixture and roll them in breadcrumbs (you can use somemeatball tongs or croquette tongs).
5. For cooking the stew: Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in the la Creuset casserole and lightly brown the meatballs. They don't need to be cooked through. Add the white wine, the lemon juice and let it evaporate for 2 minutes.
6. Add the water. Dilute the tomato cream in a few drops of water and add that too. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Uncover the pot and let reduce for 5 more minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit.
7. Finally serve with a few black olives, a few capers, plenty of grated lemon zest (it's the special touch), and a little chopped fresh basil.

Le Creuset Cocotte and Revol plates from the No.W collection