BRAISED MEATBALLS IN WINE GRAVY

l 6-oz. piece day old french bread (generous l/3 of l6 oz. loaf) crust left on, bread cut into 8 pieces
l cup whole milk
l-3/4 lbs. ground beef
2 large eggs
l med onion finely chopped
l/2 cup plus l tbsps. chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp. salt
l tsp. pepper
l tsp. dried summer savory
flour
2 tbsps. buter
l-l/2 tsp. olive oil
2 cups dry red wine
l/4 cup tomato paste
3 cups canned beef broth
Heat oven 350. Combine bread pieces and milk in med bowl, pressing on bread to submerge; let stand until milk is absorbed, about l0 mins. Squeeze out most of milk from bread; discard milk. Place bread in large bowl. Add beef, eggs, onion, parsley, s&p and savory and mix well. Transfer meat mix to processor. Process until wellblended and mixture looks pasty. Form mixture 9into l-l/4″ meatballs (about 30). Divide meat between two l3x9″ dishes. Bake meatballs 30
mins. Set aside. Dust meatballs with flour; shake off excess. Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over med high heat. Working in batches add balls to skillet and saute until brown on all sides about 3 mins. Return all meatballs to skillet. Whisk wine and tomato paste in small bowl to blend. Add wine mix to meatballs and bring to boil. Continue boiling until wine thickens slightly, stirring frequently about 5 mins. Add broth, reduce heat to med and simmer until flavors blend and gravy thickens, stirring frequently about l5 mins. Season to taste with s&p. Transfer meatballs and gravy to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining l tbsps. parsley and serve.
Serves 6 Bon Appetit Feb 2001
These should or can be served with “Mashed Potatoes with Spinach & Cheese”