Meatballs in Almonds Sauce

This is one of those recipes that everyone loves.

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

• 300 grams  (0.7 lb) of ground beef
• 2 heaping tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 garlic clove
• Chopped parsley
• Salt
• Black pepper
• All-purpose white flour
• Cooking oil for frying

For the sauce

• 30 raw almonds
• Half a garlic clove
• 1 cup of chicken or beef broth
• Stale bread
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

In a bowl, combine the ground beef with beaten egg, breadcrumbs, a teaspoon of chopped parsley, half a teaspoon of salt, a bit of black pepper, and half a garlic clove (minced, without the central green germ).

Knead well with your hands until you have a homogeneous mixture.

Pinch off the mixture and form balls the size of ping pong balls. Roll them in flour and then fry them in a pan until they are golden brown. Set aside.

In the same pan where you fried the meatballs, with a generous pour of olive oil, fry the whole garlic clove and the finely chopped almonds, except for three or four that you keep whole. Add crumbled stale bread, a bit of salt, and black pepper. When the almonds are lightly browned, remove from heat. Remove the garlic clove, add the broth, and blend until you get a smooth sauce. The whole almonds that were fried should not be blended.

The sauce should be very smooth, so blend it well with an immersion blender.

Return the sauce to the pan and also add the meatballs. Let it simmer over medium-low heat for half an hour until the sauce thickens, and the meat is well-cooked.

Serve it piping hot, garnished with slices of the reserved almonds.