Opah Meatballs

A deep sea twist on traditional meatballs! Serve this with your favorite tomato sauce as an appetizer, or add pasta to make it the main course. This utilizes opah “flank” which is derived from the abductor or adductor muscle of the fish and looks and cooks similar to beef. Makes 18 meatballs. Recipe courtesy Chef Paul Arias, The Fishery.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs opah abductor, diced
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp chili flake
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• Salt & pepper to taste

How to Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl mix together the opah, minced garlic, chili flake, oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder and eggs. Next, add in the parsley, parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper and gently mix again.
3. Form mixture into 18 (3 oz) balls.
4. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe sauté pan, and sear meatballs on all sides.
5. Place pan with seared meatballs in pre-heated oven and bake for 8 minutes.
6. Serve with your favorite tomato sauce as an appetizer, or add pasta to make it an entrée!

Products

Opah Abductor