Grass-Fed Beef Meatballs Braised in Tomato Sauce

I was watching the Hallmark Channel show Home & Family the other day and watched Chef Seamus Mullen make these grass-fed beef meatballs with a homemade tomato sauce.  I was drawn to this recipe (or should I say I momentarily flipped-out) since he did not use bread crumbs as his filler.  Instead he used almonds!  Now why didn’t I think of that?  The best part about this is that the almond filler completely works!  So I am doing the happy dance here, and I just have to share this recipe with you.  I bolded the part in the ingredients to remember to soak the almonds for 4 hours.  I just soaked them when I woke in the morning, and they were ready when I started cooking dinner.  Don’t let the ricotta throw you.  I left it off in the photo, but I used organic nonfat plain yogurt with my leftovers!

Grass-Fed Beef Meatballs Braised in Tomato Sauce with Fresh Ricotta—Serves 4

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

• 1-pound ground grass-fed beef
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 shallot
• 1 teaspoon preserved lemon rind (I bought Spice Islands Lemon Peel.)
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup almonds, soaked in water for four hours, then strained
• Fresh sage, parsley and rosemary (I used 1 tablespoon of each, chopped)
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• Fresh pepper

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 1 can San Marzano tomatoes (It wasn’t specified in the recipe whether to use whole or crushed tomatoes. I used crushed, but whole would work since the chef mentioned a chunky sauce.)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly slices
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• 4 filets anchovies
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (It is off plan, but I used it.)
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• Whole spring of basil
• Sea salt and fresh pepper
• 1 cup fresh ricotta (I substituted organic nonfat plain yogurt; not in photo.)
• Purple basil to garnish (I just used regular basil.)

Directions for the Sauce:

1. In a large pot (I actually used a large pan) heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat, add the shallots, basil, anchovies and garlic and sweat for 5 minutes until translucent.
2. Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce by half, about 5 minutes.  Then add the San Marzano tomatoes, olives, cayenne and season with salt and fresh pepper.  Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Then remove from the heat and purée in a Vitamix (I used a blender) leaving the texture a little chunky.  Then return to the pot (pan).
4. While the sauce is simmering, prepare the meatballs.

Directions for the Meatballs:

1. Combine the garlic, shallot, preserved lemon and extra-virgin olive oil in the Vitamix (or blender) and purée.
2. Then add the herbs and almonds and pulse until the almonds are chopped up, but still course. 
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and fold into the ground beef.
4. Season the beef with salt and pepper and then form into even balls roughly the size of golf balls.
5. Carefully add the meatballs into the simmering sauce and braise gently until the meatballs read 145°F at the center with a meat thermometer or roughly 15 minutes.
6. Serve on a large platter with dollops of fresh ricotta, a drizzle of fruity olive oil, and sprigs of purple basil.

This dish is delicious!  The meatballs turned out perfectly during the braising time in the sauce.  The addition of the preserved lemon and the fresh herbs added to the flavor.  Next time I would purée the almonds to be a little less coarse.

The sauce is incredible!  I have never added anchovies or kalamata olives to a tomato sauce before, but it added so much flavor.  Don’t worry—the sauce does not taste fishy at all.  The sauce does have a kick to it from the cayenne pepper.  

I would definitely serve the dish with the organic nonfat plain yogurt.  I apologize for not having it in my photo.  I really enjoyed the heat of the sauce with the contrast of the coolness of the yogurt.  The meatballs can be served over brown rice pasta.  In my case, I served them over cauliflower rice to save on carbohydrates and get a serving of veggies.  I am going to make this dish again.  I think I might experiment with ground turkey or chicken next time in the meatballs.  I’m also going to use almonds as a filler in possibly a meatloaf.  I have so many ideas!  I hope you enjoy this recipes!