Curried Meatballs & Potatoes

It's finally starting to feel like November - at least in the evenings (the 60 degree temps during the day, not so much).  On cold nights, nothing is better to me than a warm, comforting meal.  Even better if that meal can be healthy!

I found this flavor packed recipe on Soupbelly.  I knew that it would be great cold weather fare - not to mention easy enough for a weeknight meal and maybe a cure for a bad case of the "Mondays".

This dish serves up big doses of flavor and comfort.  The Husband & I were big fans of this meal.  The meatballs are really good - you get tons of curry, garlic & ginger.  I really appreciate a spice filled meatball, because I feel like a lot of meatballs end of kind of bland and play very low key supporting role to sauces. Not the case here.  Though - not to say the sauce isn't a star in its' own right! The sauce is delicious as well.  Again, you get that curry and the soy & Worcestershire sauces add a great savoriness.

I only made a few tiny changes, which I have noted in italics below.  As always, I used ground venison instead of beef (or lamb).  I had chicken broth, not beef broth on hand, so that is what I used.  No ginger in the fridge, so I used ground ginger in its' place.

Curried Meatballs & Potatoes
By Soupbelly

Meatball Ingredients:
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. Yellow Curry Powder
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg
2 tsp ginger, minced (I used 1/8 tsp dried, ground ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef or lamb (I used venison)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Other Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes, chopped into 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium onions, sliced
handful of fresh basil leaves

Curry Sauce:
2 cups beef broth (I used low sodium chicken broth)
1 cup water
1 tbsp. Yellow Curry Powder
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Black Pepper to taste

Thickening Agent:
3 Tbsp cornstarch + 5 Tbsp water, blended into a milky paste

In a bowl, mix all ingredients for meatballs together. Roll into meatballs the size of ping pong balls. In a wok on medium high, add 2 tsp. corn oil, and brown the meatballs on all sides, using a spatula to flip. Set meatballs aside on a plate.

Reserve the oil in the wok from the meatballs. Sauté onions on medium high heat until caramelized. Add potatoes and cook for another 5-7 minutes, stirring consistently. Add meatballs. Pour in ingredients for the sauce and simmer on medium heat with the lid until potatoes are tender (12-15 minutes). Stir in cornstarch and water mixture until sauce becomes thickened. Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Remove from heat and serve over rice.