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• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

Note, this recipe makes a lot more sauce than we actually needed for the meatballs. But, the sauce is so good, any leftover can be mixed in with rice or pasta.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium shallots, minced
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp sherry wine vinegar
• ½ cup brandy
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup port
• 2 cups beef stock or chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons green peppercorns in brine, drained and crushed
• Coarse salt, to taste

Meatballs:

• 2 ½-inch thick slices white bread, crusts removed
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ pound ground veal
• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ pound ground beef
• 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
• ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup olive oil

Method

1 To make the meatballs, soak the bread in milk until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the milk and squeeze the bread out slightly. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread, veal, pork, beef, salt, pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta, egg and parsley. Mix well enough to combine the ingredients, but just enough — if you work the mixture too long your meatballs will become tough. Roll into meatballs the size of golf balls, set on a tray and put in the fridge to firm up.

2 To make the sauce, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the mustard, brandy and sherry vinegar and reduce to half, about 3-4 minutes. If you are using dried peppercorns, add them here.

3 Add the red wine and port and reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Take the meatballs out of the fridge now. Add the stock to the sauce and reduce the mixture by half again, about 20 minutes. If you are using brined green peppercorns add them and salt to taste.

4 Heat the ¼ cup olive oil a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Fry the meatballs until crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside, about 12 minutes. Do this in batches so that the meatballs are not crowded. As the batches of meatballs are cooked, transfer them to 300-degree oven to stay warm while you finish cooking the meatballs and sauce.

5 When all the meatballs have been cooked, add them to the sauce and coat them well. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and transfer the meatballs to a platter or to plates. Stir the heavy cream into the sauce and serve.

Yield: Serves 6.