Our Holiday Traditions: Christmas Eve Meatballs

Personal traditions can be a balm to the soul in a hectic world. Here at The Attic on Eighth, we hail from all over the globe and so we head into the holiday season with a variety of traditions influencing our content. In this series inspired by and dedicated to our founding Lifestyle Editor, Lee Clark, we hope to add to the joyous community spirit of the season and share holiday traditions that are dear to our hearts. Continuing the series for 2020, founding The Attic on Eighth member Amy Richardson shares a Christmas Eve tradition that she started with her father.

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Last year I shared an almost aggressively traditional part of my Christmas with you, Carols by Candlelight. If you’re looking for something in the same vein, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Although my family has a million and one traditions when it comes to Christmas, there’s one that I began and have kept going through sheer determination for nearly fifteen  years — making meatballs from scratch with my dad on Christmas Eve.

The author in 2006.

It all came about when I was fourteen  and wanted to do something on Christmas Eve to make it special. More importantly, it had to be something that helped my mum relax. Women take on an awful lot of labour over the festive period. Often, they are the ones who shop for presents, prepare the menu, shop for the food, and try to make it special for their children, on top of the usual routines of everyday life — cooking, cleaning, ironing, working. Although my dad is the one who cooks Christmas dinner, my mum does all the Christmas shopping and back then worked in a school so was often busy almost right up until the day itself.

That year, about a week out from Christmas, I announced that dad and I would be doing the cooking on Christmas Eve and that we would make something special so that it wasn’t just another meal. Why meatballs? I just fancied making them. I flicked through some recipe books until I got to one by the British tea time TV icon Ainsley Harriott, where I found a recipe for the meatballs. It looked mildly complicated but not too difficult, something that I could probably make with help. At this point, I had never cooked a proper meal by myself in my life, so I couldn’t attempt anything too fancy. 

The first time dad and I followed the recipe, it took hours and then the meatballs mostly fell apart when we fried them. The next year it took less time and part way through we switched to a different pan and the meatballs stayed together! In the years that followed, we got better and better, though we forgot the pan thing quite a few times. We have switched things up a bit by using different types of breadcrumbs, dried actually works best, and we have never, ever made the suggested sauce. We just cover the cooked meatballs in passata and some fresh basil before they go into the oven, serving them at the table with tagliatelle and lots of parmesan cheese.

The author as a teen with her father in 2007.

I spend quite a lot of time these days just with my mum and I treasure every single moment. I don’t get to spend that much time hanging out with my dad, and when I do we’re often in the car. So making these meatballs together every year while listening to Christmas music is a time that we get to be silly and laugh together, even dance around the kitchen. It’s our little thing and it would be odd to make them any other time of the year, though eating frozen leftovers is absolutely fine and can work as comfort food on a bad day.

It’s odd that making meatballs with my dad has become the way I spend my early evening every Christmas Eve, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a tradition I started and have kept going through sheer willpower, and I will continue with it as long as I can. Luckily this year I left London to come home for my birthday before tier 3 kicked in for the capital, decided to stay put until the end of my Christmas annual leave. My workplace has had to close because of tier 3 restrictions in the UK, so I was working from home anyway and now it would appear I will be here for a while, who knows how long! I feel very lucky that I won’t have to spend the season without parents, although my brother will sadly be missing as he now lives abroad. If you are spending this festive period away from your loved ones, feel free to join in with my tradition and we can all pretend we’re together.

Christmas Eve Meatballs Recipe

Adapted from one in Ainsley’s Friends and Family Cookbook by Ainsley Harriott

Ingredients:

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 fat garlic clove, crushed 

1 teaspoon dried oregano (or if you’re my dad, a lot more)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (as above)

225g rindless smoked bacon

750g lean minced beef

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

75g (ish) dried golden breadcrumbs

Leaves from ½ a 20g packet parsley, chopped

1 large egg, beaten

For the sauce:

2 x cans of passata
A lot of fresh basil, chopped

Method:

For the meatballs, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small frying pan, add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft. Leave to cool slightly so it can be touched.
Chop the bacon as finely as possible with a sharp knife, removing most of the fat. Transfer to a large bowl and add the minced beef, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, parsley and cooked onion mixture and mix together well with your hands. Add the egg, salt and black pepper and mix again. Shape the mixture into walnut-sized balls using slightly wet hands. Top tip: you cannot shape these enough, roll them in your hands so that they will stay stuck together when frying. Don’t be tempted to make them bigger either!

Heat another 1 ½ - 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the meatballs, a few at a time (max. 8 works best) and brown all over. Transfer to a flameproof casserole dish when done.
Pour the cans of passata over the top of the meatballs, partly cover with foil, and pop in a medium hot oven (roughly 150°C with fan) for 20 minutes/until the tagliatelle is cooked (you need to pop that on at this point). 

Serve the tagliatelle on plates and take them along with the meatballs to the table. Sprinkle on the basil and then serve with lots of parmesan cheese!

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Amy Richardson lives and works in London at an internationally renowned art gallery, which isn't as glamorous or exciting as it sounds. She holds a BA in English, an MA in Medieval Studies, and is a Founding Member of The Attic on Eighth.