Our article on Ireland's micro-breweries last week didn't leave any space for a recipe featuring beer, so here is a classic Belgian dish which pays tribute not only to that country's great brewing tradition, but also to its great love of chicory. In her original recipe, Ruth Van Warebeek calls for a pilsener-style beer, and so some of the Irish beers one might use would be the Irish Brewing Company's No 1 Brew or Dwan's Cool Amber. I rather think Maeve's Crystal Wheat, from the Dublin Brewing Company, would be just the ticket, even though it is not a pilsener style. The rule, then, is to drink the same beer with the dish as you used in the cooking.
Belgian Meatballs Braised in Beer with Endives
The meatballs:
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
3/4 cup milk
1lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork or veal
1 large egg
1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until thoroughly moistened and use your hands to squeeze them dry. In a mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, ground meats, egg, shallots, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Mix together thoroughly with your hands. Form the mixture into six to eight balls or patties (two inches in diameter and half-inch thick) and dust with the flour. In a deep, heavy Dutch oven, heat the butter and oil until hot but not smoking over high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides (about five minutes), making sure that the butter does not burn. Remove the meatballs to a platter and reserve.
The sauce:
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 Belgian endives, cored and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
11/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup blond pilsener-style beer
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth, preferably home-made
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, for garnish
Discard all but two tablespoons of the fat in the pan used for the meatballs. Add the onion and endives; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar, salt, pepper and flour over the vegetables; cook, stirring, for one to two minutes longer. Add the beer and broth to the vegetables; bring to a quick boil, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and return the meatballs to the pan, placing them on top of the vegetables. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is cooked through and has absorbed the flavours of the sauce (about 45 minutes). Sprinkle with parsley and serve.