Every once in a while, I like to buy smoothies when I'm at the grocery store. This time, a banana-pineapple-coconut blend caught my eye. I was about to put it in my cart... but then I started thinking about how easy it would be to re-create this on my own. So I put it back and instead went and grabbed a pineapple. (I cheated and got a cored, peeled one because it worked out to be both cheaper and easier). I was already getting bananas for the froglet anyway, so now it was just a matter of deciding what to do about the coconut.
I contemplated the fresh coconuts for a while but, in the end, decided that coconut water was the way to go. (Based on the ingredients list in the smoothie, that was their only source of coconut anyway.) There was no yogurt included in the pre-made smoothie, but I decided that it might make a nice addition, so I picked up a tub of my favourite vanilla yogurt.
My smoothies came out delicious and were dead easy to make! I really should do this kind of thing more often!
Banana Velvet Smoothie
1/3 banana
1/3 pineapple, cut into large chunks
~120mL toasted coconut water
~60mL vanilla or coconut yogurt (optional)
1. Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth.
TF had his smoothie without the yogurt. I was worried that it might be too runny, but the banana gives it a nice, thick, smooth consistency and helps to mellow out the acidic pineapple.
I had been planning on adding vanilla yogurt to mine, but realized as I was getting ready to make it that there was still a bit of coconut yogurt in the fridge that needed to be used up. This worked out really well as it added an extra hit of coconut to the mix and helped it stand out a little more.
I also tried a version that omitted the banana, going for more of a piña colada sort of vibe. You definitely notice the acidity of the pineapple a lot more without the banana, but I'm okay with that. Both versions were really excellent and I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favourite. Yum!
Saturday, 10 January 2015
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Dothraki Blood Pie
I'm a big fan of black pudding. And white pudding. And pretty much anything you'd find in a full Irish breakfast. But especially black pudding. I'm also generally a fan of pistachios, leeks, and chèvre. So, when I saw a Game of Thrones-inspired pie that involved all of these things, I was intrigued.
Dothraki Blood Pie
Adapted from C&C Cakery
1/2 c. pistachios, ground
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. chickpea flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cold butter, cut into cubes
1 egg
1/4 c. cold water
2 leeks, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 large eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
140g chèvre
225g black pudding, chopped
1. Combine pistachios, whole wheat flour, chickpea four, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture has a uniform, crumbly texture.
2. Stir in egg. Add cold water 1 Tbsp. at a time until dough comes together into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the leeks and garlic in the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter. Add thyme, rosemary, and pepper.
4. Once the dough has chilled, unwrap and roll out to ~1/4" thickness and line a pie plate (or in my case a square cake pan) with it. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.
5. Once the crust is baked, beat eggs until light and fluffy, then gradually add the cream.
6. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt to the egg mixture and crumble in the chèvre.
7. Place the sautéed leeks in the bottom of the pie crust and top with chopped black pudding. Pour egg mixture over this and then bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
TF really liked this pie (and so did the froglet)! He generally finds black pudding too heavy and intense to eat much of it in a sitting, so he found the blood pie to be a great way to enjoy it. For my part, it was okay... but I felt like it could've used some work.
I was initially intrigued by the unique crust recipe. However, I found the dough to be fairly difficult to handle and I didn't think it actually complemented the filling that well. I actually think that a traditional pie crust, puff pastry, or a whole wheat crust (without the chickpea flour pistachios) would've worked better here.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the layering effect with the leeks and black pudding staying quite separate. If I made this again, I'd actually combine the leeks and pudding (and maybe try mixing in the cheese once the mixture had cooled as well).
I had an extra leek and it was starting to look a little sad, so I decided to throw it in. I liked the extra leek and still felt that there was enough pudding and cheese to go with it; the egg was a little lacking though. I think I'd like to try adding an extra egg next time. I know the egg isn't really meant to be centre stage here, it's just there to hold everything else together and give it some cohesion, but I still think I would've liked a bit more of it.
It's certainly an interesting recipe, and I'm glad that I tried it. That said, I wasn't overly impressed with it. I'll definitely try to tweak it if I make it again. However, unless TF specifically requests it, I doubt I'll be revisiting this one.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
I-Forgot-to-Buy-Salsa Salsa
This is what happens when I decide that I want quesadillas for lunch only to realize that I never restocked on salsa after using up the last jar in my black bean soup. I was trying to throw something together really quickly while the froglet was taking a nap, so I wasn't about to run out and get more salsa.
This isn't much of a recipe; more of a stir-thnigs-together-in-a-bowl-until-it-looks-tasty but, simple as it seems, I just wanted to jot it down here in case I ever want to try to make it again. (And, based on how well it worked in my quesadilla today, I think I will!)
Simple Salsa
1 (14 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce + 2 Tbsp. sauce, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
1/2 c. frozen corn
1. Dump everything into a bowl and stir together. Enjoy with a quesadilla or nachos!
And, there you have it! Simple as simple an be, but quite delicious. The chipotles add a lovely smokiness and the adobo sauce really does most of the rest of the work for you. The corn provides some textural contrast as well as balancing sweetness. It all works out rather well!
This isn't much of a recipe; more of a stir-thnigs-together-in-a-bowl-until-it-looks-tasty but, simple as it seems, I just wanted to jot it down here in case I ever want to try to make it again. (And, based on how well it worked in my quesadilla today, I think I will!)
Simple Salsa
1 (14 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce + 2 Tbsp. sauce, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2-3 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
1/2 c. frozen corn
1. Dump everything into a bowl and stir together. Enjoy with a quesadilla or nachos!
And, there you have it! Simple as simple an be, but quite delicious. The chipotles add a lovely smokiness and the adobo sauce really does most of the rest of the work for you. The corn provides some textural contrast as well as balancing sweetness. It all works out rather well!
Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon
ToxicFrog here! Originally we were thinking I might do a guest post someday when making a dish I'm familiar with -- cheeseburger pie, say, or spaghetti alla carbonara -- but today the baby was being full of spiders, and symbol asked if I'd make the dish she'd already picked out for today and then guest blog about it.
This is another recipe from Spache the Spatula. It is clearly a distant relative of the much plainer cheese sauce I grew up with, but the addition of bacon and pumpkin transforms it dramatically.
Now that we've tasted it, symbol and I are in agreement that it lacks a certain punchiness; she suggests adding tomato and garlic next time, both of which I'm in agreement with. I wonder if it could do with a certain heat as well, via the addition of cayenne or even mustard, but I'm not sure how well those would coexist with the pumpkin. Symbol suggests that Madras curry powder would be extremely harmonious with the pumpkin (and that the mustard would, as I suspected, be a poor addition).
The recipe as I prepared it is below. I made some substitutions, which are described in footnotes, and some changes in cooking order to make it easier to manage.
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon1
- 450g small pasta2
- 1 C pumpkin puree
- 2 C coconut milk3
- ¼ tsp, heaped, of ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 100g extra old cheddar, grated4
- 50g emmentaler, grated4
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp dried parsley5
- a pinch of majoram5
- For the topping:
Instructions
- Put the cheese in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp. Place on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Drain and reserve the bacon grease.
- Return 2 tbsp of the bacon grease to the large saucepan, and add 1 tbsp of butter. Melt the butter over medium heat, then whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes until it forms a thick, golden-brown roux.
- Stir in the pumpkin and coconut milk mixture and simmer, stirring.
- Meanwhile, begin cooking the pasta. You can start this process earlier if you like; I waited until this point so I could re-use the pot I used for the pumpkin.
- Once the pumpkin mixture has blended with the roux, after a few minutes of simmering (and thickened even further in doing so), stir in the cheese and let it melt, then add the parsley and crumble four of the bacon slices into it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- As soon as the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce. Mix thoroughly.
- Pour the pasta into an oven safe baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine the panko, 1 tbsp of the bacon fat7, the rest of the parsley, and the parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta in the baking dish.
- Broil until the breadcrumbs are brown and crispy.
- Crumble the remaining two bacon slices over it and serve.
1 The original calls for 4 here, but we really like bacon. ↩
2 I used radiatori here. The original calls for fusilli, but I think most small pastas, including shells and macaroni, would work. ↩
3 The original calls for milk. Coconut milk has the advantage of being lactose free (I'm lactose intolerant, and we were out of lactose free milk). We generally have a few tins on hand for curries, but coconut milk and cream can be substituted for the cow equivalents in surprisingly many recipes. This turned out really well and we'll probably keep making it with coconut milk in the future even once we've restocked on cow's milk; it goes nicely with the pumpkin. ↩
4 The original recipe calls for 50g each of mild and sharp cheddar, and 50g gouda. The "extra old" cheddar here is 2 years, which is probably what is meant by "sharp", but we don't keep milder cheddars (or any sort of gouda) on hand. The emmentaler was a happy accident -- we don't normally keep that on hand either, but had just about the right amount left over from earlier cheese-eating. When next we do this we might use the smoked gouda but would probably still omit the mild cheddar in favour of more robust cheeses. ↩
5 The original calls for fresh sage, but we had no fresh herbs on hand. Dried parsley we have in abundance and while it doesn't add a lot to the dish, it's an innofensive and reliable addition. The pinch of majoram adds a bit more personality. ↩
6 This is entirely absent from the original recipe but is a delicious addition to the crust. Finely grate it from a wedge of parmesan; if you can't get your hands on a wedge and have to use pre-grated "parmesan", omit it entirely -- the results won't be pleasant. ↩
7 In the original recipe a tablespoon of melted butter is used here, but there's so much bacon grease left it seems a shame to waste it. ↩
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Beef & Cauliflower Tagine
I actually got to try out my new tagine this past Saturday...
It's so perdy!
...I just haven't really felt up to writing a post 'til now. I'll try to keep this short since the froglet is likely to demand my full attention sooner rather than later.
Beef Tagine with Roasted Cauliflower
Adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lbs. stewing beef
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 small onions, grated
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 (2 lb.) cauliflower
pinch red pepper flakes
1 (14 oz.) can of flame-roasted diced tomatoes
1. Place the tagine bottom on a heat diffuser and gradually increase the heat to medium-low. Mix 1 tsp. salt, black pepper, turmeric, and 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and add to the tagine.
2. Add the beef and cook gently until lightly browned. Cover the tagine and cook for 15 minutes. No peeking!
3. Add the paprika, ginger, cumin, onion, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, 1 Tbsp. parsley, and 1/2 c. water. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. (I turned the heat down to low for this, but I think I'd leave it on medium-low next time.)
4. Cut the cauliflower in half, then slice lengthwise into 1/2"-thick slices. Brush a jelly roll or roasting pan with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil. Mix the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil with 1/2 tsp. salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes and toss with the cauliflower.
5. Place the cauliflower in a single layer in the oiled pan and roast for 15 minutes at 400F. Turn the slices and roast for another 15 minutes.
6. (My tagine wasn't big enough to hold the cauliflower and the meat simultaneously, so I switched to doing things in the roasting pan at this point.) Add the tomato, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, and 1 Tbsp. parsley to the cauliflower. Combine the meat and cauliflower and bring to a boil.
7. Correct seasoning as needed with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and/or lemon juice. (I chose to serve over couscous. Not necessarily traditional, but definitely delicious!)
...I just haven't really felt up to writing a post 'til now. I'll try to keep this short since the froglet is likely to demand my full attention sooner rather than later.
Beef Tagine with Roasted Cauliflower
Adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lbs. stewing beef
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 small onions, grated
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 (2 lb.) cauliflower
pinch red pepper flakes
1 (14 oz.) can of flame-roasted diced tomatoes
1. Place the tagine bottom on a heat diffuser and gradually increase the heat to medium-low. Mix 1 tsp. salt, black pepper, turmeric, and 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and add to the tagine.
2. Add the beef and cook gently until lightly browned. Cover the tagine and cook for 15 minutes. No peeking!
3. Add the paprika, ginger, cumin, onion, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, 1 Tbsp. parsley, and 1/2 c. water. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours. (I turned the heat down to low for this, but I think I'd leave it on medium-low next time.)
4. Cut the cauliflower in half, then slice lengthwise into 1/2"-thick slices. Brush a jelly roll or roasting pan with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil. Mix the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil with 1/2 tsp. salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes and toss with the cauliflower.
5. Place the cauliflower in a single layer in the oiled pan and roast for 15 minutes at 400F. Turn the slices and roast for another 15 minutes.
6. (My tagine wasn't big enough to hold the cauliflower and the meat simultaneously, so I switched to doing things in the roasting pan at this point.) Add the tomato, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, and 1 Tbsp. parsley to the cauliflower. Combine the meat and cauliflower and bring to a boil.
7. Correct seasoning as needed with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and/or lemon juice. (I chose to serve over couscous. Not necessarily traditional, but definitely delicious!)
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Chocolate Guinness Cake
I may have a new favourite chocolate cake recipe. This is pretty much the perfect cake if you're looking for something dark and rich while not being too heavy or sweet. It is the Goldilocks of chocolate cakes.
My previous favourite chocolate cake recipe was tasty and definitely very chocolate-y. It was also incredibly easy, which earned several points in its favour. And it was great if you were looking for a nice dense, heavy sort of cake. I would say it was actually almost halfway between a brownie and a cake. I quite liked it. And it made a nice middle ground for me and TF. He liked it because it was almost a brownie and I liked it because it wasn't quite a brownie. And that recipe will still be my go-to for a nice, simple, heavy chocolate cake.
The Guinness cake though... it's a whole different animal. It's not as dense as my usual chocolate cake and is less sweet as well. There's actually a slightly bitter undertone to it, but it's incredibly moist and rich and dark. A beauty of a cake!
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson
250mL Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g Dutched cocoa powder
400g granulated sugar
142mL sour cream (full fat/14%)
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
275g all-purpose flour
2 1/2 baking soda
1. On the stove, melt the butter with the Guinness.
2. Whisk in the sugar and cocoa.
3. Beat the eggs into the sour cream with the vanilla and add to the Guinness mixture.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda and whisk it into the mix.
5. Pour into a greased 9" springform pan and bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.
There was an icing recipe provided as well. I like the idea of a white cream cheese icing to mimic the white head on a pint of Guinness however, this cake is so good on its own, it's difficult to justify even making a frosting for it! I definitely don't think this is the type of chocolate cake that wants a chocolate frosting to go with it. I would be interested to see how it pairs with a slightly tangy cream cheese frosting though. I think it would be good, certainly. It's just hard to believe that it would be better than the naked cake on its own.
My previous favourite chocolate cake recipe was tasty and definitely very chocolate-y. It was also incredibly easy, which earned several points in its favour. And it was great if you were looking for a nice dense, heavy sort of cake. I would say it was actually almost halfway between a brownie and a cake. I quite liked it. And it made a nice middle ground for me and TF. He liked it because it was almost a brownie and I liked it because it wasn't quite a brownie. And that recipe will still be my go-to for a nice, simple, heavy chocolate cake.
The Guinness cake though... it's a whole different animal. It's not as dense as my usual chocolate cake and is less sweet as well. There's actually a slightly bitter undertone to it, but it's incredibly moist and rich and dark. A beauty of a cake!
I made a train cake!
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson
250mL Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g Dutched cocoa powder
400g granulated sugar
142mL sour cream (full fat/14%)
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
275g all-purpose flour
2 1/2 baking soda
1. On the stove, melt the butter with the Guinness.
2. Whisk in the sugar and cocoa.
3. Beat the eggs into the sour cream with the vanilla and add to the Guinness mixture.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda and whisk it into the mix.
5. Pour into a greased 9" springform pan and bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.
There was an icing recipe provided as well. I like the idea of a white cream cheese icing to mimic the white head on a pint of Guinness however, this cake is so good on its own, it's difficult to justify even making a frosting for it! I definitely don't think this is the type of chocolate cake that wants a chocolate frosting to go with it. I would be interested to see how it pairs with a slightly tangy cream cheese frosting though. I think it would be good, certainly. It's just hard to believe that it would be better than the naked cake on its own.
Thursday, 1 January 2015
Swedish Meatballs
Growing up, my family had something of a New Year's Eve tradition. It involved a lot of hors d'oeuvres and finger foods. Basically, my mom would make up a veggie tray (and maybe a fruit tray or a fruit salad as well) and we'd cook up a bunch of those prepared frozen appetizers and set up a New Year's buffet for dinner. It generally wasn't terribly healthy (aside from the fruit and veg), but it was a lot of fun!
I didn't get any frozen hors d'oeuvres to cook up for New Year's this year, but suddenly this evening, I started getting wistful. Swedish meatballs weren't really a fixture of the New Year's buffets of my childhood, but I decided that I wanted to give them a try anyway. There are no shortage of recipes posted online and I even had all the ingredients on hand already!
Swedish Meatballs
From Damn Delicious
2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. allspice berries, ground
1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt, to taste
Gravy
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
4 c. beef broth
3/4 c. sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1. Cook the onion in 1 Tbsp. of the oil/butter until translucent and softened. (I actually used bacon fat for this step since I still had some left over from making my bacon cupcakes.)
2. In a large bowl, combine all the remaining meatball ingredients with the onions. Mix until well-blended.
3. Form into small meatballs and cook, in batches, in the remaining oil/butter.
4. Remove meatballs from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the butter for the gravy.
5. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour and stir to create a uniform mix. Continue to stir over medium-low heat until a golden roux is formed. Let it cook a little more if you'd like a darker gravy. (I stopped mine a little too soon.)
6. Once the roux has reached the desired colour, begin gradually adding the beef broth. Increase heat to medium and continue to stir until the gravy thickens and becomes smooth and uniform again.
7. Stir in the sour cream, salt, pepper, and parsley. (I only had dried parsley on hand, but definitely use fresh if it's available.)
I generally halve the amount of salt stated in recipes and find that I'm perfectly happy with that. When a recipe says to add additional salt "to taste", I generally find that I don't need to add any at all. I figured that approach would serve me find here. Especially since the bacon fat was a bit salty. In this case though, I actually felt that the finished dish could've used that extra hit of salt.
The meatballs tasted great, but a pinch of salt probably wouldn't've gone amiss. And in the sauce, it tasted like there were flavours roiling just below the surface but unable to express themselves. I got the sense that just a dash of extra salt would've really brought them into their own and let them shine. I think I'll add ~1/4 tsp. of coarse sea salt to the leftovers in the pot and see how that goes. (I tried adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the plate of meatballs and noodles I just had, but the flavour of the Worcestershire just kind of overpowered everything else. I think straight-up salt is the way to go here.)
The meatballs and gravy are good served over rotini. I think they'd be even better heaped onto a big, steaming plate of egg noodles. But what I really think would make this dish is peas! I think adding about two cups of lovely, sweet green peas to the gravy right at the end and letting them cook just a little bit would be absolutely phenomenal. The meatballs and the gravy are both good, but they're practically crying out for peas! (Plus, having something green in there makes it healthy, right?)
I didn't get any frozen hors d'oeuvres to cook up for New Year's this year, but suddenly this evening, I started getting wistful. Swedish meatballs weren't really a fixture of the New Year's buffets of my childhood, but I decided that I wanted to give them a try anyway. There are no shortage of recipes posted online and I even had all the ingredients on hand already!
Swedish Meatballs
From Damn Delicious
2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. allspice berries, ground
1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt, to taste
Gravy
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
4 c. beef broth
3/4 c. sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1. Cook the onion in 1 Tbsp. of the oil/butter until translucent and softened. (I actually used bacon fat for this step since I still had some left over from making my bacon cupcakes.)
2. In a large bowl, combine all the remaining meatball ingredients with the onions. Mix until well-blended.
3. Form into small meatballs and cook, in batches, in the remaining oil/butter.
4. Remove meatballs from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the butter for the gravy.
5. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour and stir to create a uniform mix. Continue to stir over medium-low heat until a golden roux is formed. Let it cook a little more if you'd like a darker gravy. (I stopped mine a little too soon.)
6. Once the roux has reached the desired colour, begin gradually adding the beef broth. Increase heat to medium and continue to stir until the gravy thickens and becomes smooth and uniform again.
7. Stir in the sour cream, salt, pepper, and parsley. (I only had dried parsley on hand, but definitely use fresh if it's available.)
I generally halve the amount of salt stated in recipes and find that I'm perfectly happy with that. When a recipe says to add additional salt "to taste", I generally find that I don't need to add any at all. I figured that approach would serve me find here. Especially since the bacon fat was a bit salty. In this case though, I actually felt that the finished dish could've used that extra hit of salt.
The meatballs tasted great, but a pinch of salt probably wouldn't've gone amiss. And in the sauce, it tasted like there were flavours roiling just below the surface but unable to express themselves. I got the sense that just a dash of extra salt would've really brought them into their own and let them shine. I think I'll add ~1/4 tsp. of coarse sea salt to the leftovers in the pot and see how that goes. (I tried adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the plate of meatballs and noodles I just had, but the flavour of the Worcestershire just kind of overpowered everything else. I think straight-up salt is the way to go here.)
The meatballs and gravy are good served over rotini. I think they'd be even better heaped onto a big, steaming plate of egg noodles. But what I really think would make this dish is peas! I think adding about two cups of lovely, sweet green peas to the gravy right at the end and letting them cook just a little bit would be absolutely phenomenal. The meatballs and the gravy are both good, but they're practically crying out for peas! (Plus, having something green in there makes it healthy, right?)
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