Greek-inspired meatballs

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g minced meat, mixed
• 2 eggs, size M
• 4 tbsp, heaped breadcrumbs
• 500 ml red wine, preferably dry Greek
• 2 cl Metaxa (to taste)
• 500 ml beef stock
• 1 ½ tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour,
• salt and pepper
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 2 sprig(s) Thyme , smaller branches or 1 large one
• 1 slice(s) feta cheese, approx. 175 g, in cubes with 1.5 cm edge length
• 1 bunch of spring onions or 1/4 each of red, yellow, and green bell peppers

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 2 hours

with feta and plenty of sauce, including gluten-free version, makes 10 – 12 pieces

Preparations (the day before if necessary): If you don’t have pre-cooked stock on hand, you should pre-cook it the day before (Mathias56’s “Beef Broth and Beef Stock” works best—here, of course, the stock). For the breadcrumbs, grate some dried, stale bread rolls on a fine grater until you have the right amount. For the gluten-free version, toast some slices of cornbread (preferably the day before, so they’re thoroughly dry on the day of preparation) and process them as above. On the day of preparation: Clean the herbs, strip off any needles and leaves, and chop very finely. Chopping breaks up the cells, allowing the juices to escape, and thus more flavor goes into the board than into the food. Cut the spring onions into fine rings (approx. 5 mm thick) or the bell peppers into small cubes (5 mm edge length). Place the ground beef (I always use organic, which holds the volume better) in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, herbs, salt, pepper, spring onions or diced bell peppers and knead everything into a homogeneous mass. Using a medium sauce ladle, scoop out dumplings of around 65g, press a piece of feta into each and form them into small meatballs. Sear in a pan with the highest possible sides (at least 6cm) and first glaze with red wine, i.e. deglaze the pan with a small amount of the cooking juices, let it slide off and simmer until it has almost evaporated, add a little more and simmer again until a little more remains. Continue until all the wine has been used up. Add the stock (diluted if necessary) and simmer for a few more minutes until a total cooking time of around 15 minutes is reached. If you like, you can finely crumble any leftover feta and add it to the sauce now. Finally, season to taste with the Metaxa. In a separate pan, make a roux from flour and butter (proceed as follows if celiacs are present at the table). Remove the meatballs from the gravy and keep them warm in the oven (preheated to approximately 80 degrees Celsius). Stir the roux into the gravy and cook for another 2.5 minutes, until it thickens noticeably. If celiacs are present at the table, you can also thicken the sauce with 1/4 of a small piece of cold butter or 3/4 cup of heavy cream (but let it simmer for a while until thickened). Of course, you can also use any other thickening method for the sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes. A Greek or mixed salad goes particularly well with this.