Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- For the Meatballs:
- 3/4 pound 80% lean ground beef
- 3/4 pound ground pork
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup panko, homemade breadcrumbs or crushed/ground corn tortilla chips
- Milk to moisten crumbs, about 1/4 cup
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple small handfuls
- 1 1/2 teaspoons each ground cumin, coriander and regular or smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Piquillo peppers in water, drained and finely chopped or 1 4-ounce jar pimientos, drained and finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons grated onion
- 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
- About 1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley and/or cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- About 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Tomato Sauce:
- For the Tomato Sauce:
- 1 cup chicken stock
- A fat pinch saffron
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes or hot paprika
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 32-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
Yield
Serves: 4
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F.
For the meatballs, combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl then roll into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast 18-20 minutes, until browned.
For the sauce, warm stock and saffron to infuse the flavor into the stock. Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat and stir in onions. Season with salt, add bay leaf and cook to soften onions, 5 minutes. Add chili flakes or hot paprika and garlic, and stir for 1 minute. Add saffron-infused stock and tomatoes, and simmer to thicken. Remove bay leaf, add roasted meatballs to sauce and serve.
