Serves 4

 

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lbs. ground lamb

1/3 cup lightly toasted pine nuts coarsely chopped

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese (or something similar)

1/4 cup ground flax meal or almond meal

1 egg

2 cloves garlic pressed or finely chopped

1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped – optional (I’ve made them with or without depending on if I have parsley on hand and both ways are good)

1/2 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon of Allspice (do not leave this out as it is key to the flavor of the recipe)

Several turns of ground pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

1 28 oz. can San Marzano whole tomatoes (I like Cento brand)

2 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

 

Directions:

• In a large skillet, add olive oil and garlic over medium heat. Heat just until garlic is fragrant.
• Add can of whole tomatoes and all of the juices. Break up tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. Simmer over low heat while preparing the meatballs and stir occasionally while continuing to break down the tomatoes.

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, add all the meatball ingredients. Mix thoroughly by hand. I like to use kitchen/food handling gloves.
• Form 1 ½” meatballs and place on lined baking sheet. Should make around 20 meatballs.
• Bake meatballs for 15 minutes.

• Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 15 minutes or longer if desired.

• Serve over your favorite noodles. For low-carb use Palmini Linguini, Miracle Noodle, or make your own zucchini noodles.

The meatballs and sauce freeze well for later use. Make a double batch!

If you can’t eat tomato sauce for special dietary considerations, the meatballs are delicious on their own!