Fava Bean Meatballs
Recipe by Bruce Harrison
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough bread, torn into small pieces
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1½ pounds 80/20 ground beef
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ½ cup pecorino cheese, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley, packed
- ¼ cup basil, packed
- 1¼ cups fresh fava beans, peeled
- 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- ½ tablespoon Italian oregano, dried
- 1 teaspoon Hatch chile flakes, dried
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
Instructions
- Soak sourdough in whole milk for 10 minutes. After soaking, gently squeeze out and discard remaining milk. Bread should be wet and falling apart. Add to bowl with bread the ground beef, ricotta, pecorino, and garlic.
- Mince parsley and basil. Roughly chop fresh favas. Add them and herbs to bowl with beef. Grind fennel seed, Italian oregano, and Hatch chile flakes in spice grinder, then introduce to bowl with beef. Add kosher salt and mix all ingredients together.
- Using hands and a scale, roll meatball mixture into roughly 2-ounce balls and place on baking tray. Nestle meatballs closely together on tray and use hands or brush to coat them with avocado oil to promote browning. Heat oven to 400 degrees F, then bake meatballs about 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, change oven to broil and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven when nicely browned and internal temperature reads 160 degrees F.
- Serve on bed of whipped ricotta or preferred sauce.
