Sweet Sesame Meatballs with Daikon Radish & Carrot Fritters

Sweet sesame meatballs packed with garlic, cilantro and spring onions coated in a sesame hoisin sauce served with crispy carrot & diakon radish fritters and a sesame ginger salad.

Difficulty: Medium

Time: 35-40 Minutes

This dish is Gluten-Free

Calories: 620 Fat: 28g Carbs: 39g Protein: 56g

ABOUT THE DISH

We’ve been loving fritters here in the Local Crate test kitchen lately. Fritters are great way to combine different vegetables and flavors into a quick side item or even an appetizer. We combine sweet carrot and slightly spicy daikon radish for an awesome flavor and crispy texture.

Ingredients

Grass Run Farms Ground Beef

Sesame ginger dressing

Egg

Carrot

Romaine lettuce

Diakon radish

Cilantro

Garlic

Spring onions

Potato starch

Hoisin

Featured Ingredient Partners:

Ground Beef: Grass Run Farms - Dorchester, IA

Spring onions: Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) - St. Paul, MN

Bias slice Cutting or slicing on a diagonal angle

Garnish To add decorative or savory touches to food.

Shallow fry is an oil-based cooking technique. It is typically used to prepare portion-sized cuts of meat and fish, and patties such as fritters. Shallow frying can also be used to cook vegetables. Shallow-fried foods are often battered.

Large mixing bowl

Small mixing bowl

large skillet

Foil lined sheet pan

Step 1: MISE EN PLACE

Read through entire recipe before getting started. Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. Wash and dry all produce. Remove tops from carrots, peel then shred. Peel daikon radish and shred. Remove root from spring onions and bias slice. Remove base from romaine and rough chop, place romaine into a small mixing bowl and toss with sesame ginger dressing. Finely chop cilantro with stems. Mince or grate garlic. Remove ground beef from package and place into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: SEASON THE BEEF

Add half of the garlic and spring onions, and 3/4’s of the cilantro to the ground beef. Season with 2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. of black pepper. Mix until well combined. Form about 10-12 golf ball sized meatballs and set aside.

Step 3: COOK THE MEATBALLS

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and sear on all sides until just browned, about 2-3 min. Turn off heat and add 1/2 of the hoision sauce and roll meatballs around to coat. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to finish cooking for 8-10 minutes. While meatballs are cooking move on to make the fritters (step #3). USDA recommends cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Step 4: MAKE THE FRITTERS

Combine potato flour, carrot, daikon, remaining garlic, spring onions, egg, and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well until you have a thick consistency.

Step 5: FRY THE FRITTERS

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat in large skillet over medium heat (use the pan you seared the meatballs in, simply wipe with a paper towel first). Using a large serving spoon, drop 6-8 dollops of batter into the hot pan, flattening with the back of the spoon and shallow fry for 2-3 min on each side until golden and crispy. Remove fritters from pan on to a paper towel. Repeat this process until all of the batter is gone.

Step 6: PLATE THE DISH

Divide the romaine between two bowls, top with crispy fritters and meatballs. Drizzle remaining hoisin sauce over meatballs. Garnish with remaining cilantro. Enjoy!