Spanish Saffron Meatballs

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 2 lbs 96% lean ground beef
• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 4 slices stone ground whole wheat bread
• 1/2 cup tightly packed parsley
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 slices bacon
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• baking cooking spray (i use olive oil pam)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons flour (i use wondra)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 (16 ounce) can beef broth
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup tightly packed parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon saffron thread
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Recipe

• 1 place the ground beef and ground lamb into a large bowl.
• 2 place the sliced bread into the food processor.
• 3 pulse into fine bread crumbs and add to the bowl.
• 4 place the parsley and garlic into the food processor and pulse until finely minced and add to the bowl.
• 5 cut the bacon slices into 2" pieces.
• 6 place in the food processor with the milk, and 1 tbsp olive oil.
• 7 pulse until the bacon has developed a ground meat texture.
• 8 add the eggs and process for a few more seconds.
• 9 add the bacon mixture and black pepper to the bowl.
• 10 mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
• 11 form into 1" meatballs.
• 12 you should have approximately 120 meatballs.
• 13 preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 14 place the meatballs on a jelly roll pan, or cake pans that have been sprayed with baking spray.
• 15 drizzle the meatballs with 3 tbsp of olive oil.
• 16 bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
• 17 allow the meatballs to cool until easy to handle.
• 18 prepare the gravy; in a dutch oven saute the finely diced onion in 3 tbsp of olive oil.
• 19 once the onion has started to brown add the flour, stir, and remove from the heat.
• 20 add the paprika, beef broth, and stir again.
• 21 add the meatballs, and cook over medium low heat for approximately 30 minutes, or until the gravy has reduced and thickened slightly.
• 22 stir as needed to coat the meatballs, but be very gentle with the meatballs so they don't break apart.
• 23 allow the meatballs to cool and place in the refrigerator.
• 24 for the very best flavor the meatballs need to be made a day ahead.
• 25 i also like to store the meatballs in a zip-loc bag so the gravy surrounds all of the meatballs.
• 26 this really makes the meatballs tender and flavorful.
• 27 45 minutes before serving; place the remaining garlic, parsley, saffron threads, and salt in the food processor.
• 28 pulse until finely minced.
• 29 heat the meatballs and gravy, once they are warm add the saffron mixture and allow to cook for 10 more minutes.