Pork & veal meatballs with white wine, parsley, lemon, lemon zest & bay leaves

Recipe: For about 18 medium sized meatballs

Ingredients:

300 gr of mixed pork & veal mince

50 gr freshly finely grated Parmesan cheese

50 gr of Panko breadcrumbs

4 tablespoons of finely chopped italian parsley

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1/2 lemon ( use an organic one which skin isn't treatened with chemicals )

sea salt flakes

black pepper

1 large egg, beaten

20 gr of white flour

1 large white dry wine glass, or 2 if you like

hot water

4 dried bay leaves, torn

EVOO, a fruity one

1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or Maïzena express, to thicken the sauce

serve with: boiled potatoes, green beans or with boiled carrots

Method:

1. First, make the meatballs. Take your foodprocessor & add the meat, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, zest of 1/2 lemon, some salt, grinds of black pepper & the beaten egg. Don't add the lemon juice!!

Put the lid on & process until it all is thoroughly mixed. Taste! Check the seasoning again. It has to taste fab!

2. Now, with your hands form medium sized ping pong balls until all of the mixture has been used. I formed 18 balls. Divide the flour all over a clean plate. Now, roll your meatballs into the flour & shake off the excess. Place them onto a new clean plate.

3. Now, in a large nonstick & deep pan, heat a thin layer of the fruity EVOO on a medium heat. Fry the meatballs for about 10 minutes until browned on all sides. Do it into 2 batches if your pan isn't large enough. When they are all done, add the wine to the pan & bring up the heat. Shake the pan carefully so that the wine is evenly divided all over the pan & let the wine bubble for a few minutes to let the alcohol burn off a bit.

4. Pour enough hot water into the pan just to cover the meatballs. Add the torn dried bayleaves & bubble over a lower heat until the sauce has reduced a bit & is more thicker. This can take a while.

5. Add the lemon juice of the 1/2 lemon & whisk it into the sauce. Cook for another few minutes. Also, add a few grinds of black pepper. Remove the torn bay leaves. Remove the meatballs from the pan & place into a preheated oven dish. If the sauce hasn't thickened enough, or isn't to your liking, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or Maïzena express to the sauce, whisk & let it boil during 2 to 5 minutes. When the sauce is ready, check the seasoning one last time & pour the sauce over the meatballs.

Enjoy with some boiled potatoes & some green beans or with boiled carrots.