Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Mediterranean Stuffed Meat Balls

Category: Beef

Serves/Makes: 14 Large Meatballs
Difficulty: 3
Prep/Cook Time: 35 minutes

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 pound ground sirloin
3 pieces white bread, crust cut off and cubed
1/2 cup milk
2 t minced garlic
1 T packed chopped fresh oregano
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 t ground cloves
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/8 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
7 bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls)
cut in half
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for hands

Preparation:

In a small container add cubed bread and pour milk over, set aside. In a large bowl add meat, garlic, oregano, egg, cloves, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix with hands to combine.

Squeeze milk out of bread and with hands, combine bread with meat mixture. Do not over mix as the meat will toughen.

Olive Oil the palm of your hands and take about 2 Tablespoons of meatball mixture and flatten against one palm. Take a half of a mozzarella ball and put in the middle. Then fold the meat around the cheese and roll into a ball. Put on a plate and continue until all balls are formed, oiling your hands when necessary.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Over medium low heat cook meatballs in two batches for 5 minutes on each side. Remove and place on a cookie sheet. After the first batch add an additional tablespoon of olive oil. When all are cooked, place cookie sheet in oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and use in your favorite spaghetti dish, or meatball sub.

Cooks Notes: I woke up this morning thinking of the combination of cloves, meat and lemon and also a desire for spaghetti. So I came up with these meatballs and added the mozzarella for the Italian touch. The meat mixture may appear too "soft" and sticky, but rest assured they come out so tender and moist. Please resist the urge to add bread crumbs or more bread to tighten the mixture up.