Gluten Free Polpette With Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 21 balls

3 tbsp of gluten free oats
5 tbsp of hot water
250g of grass fed minced beef
250g of minced pork
1 small onion, finely minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 big handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 handful of basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of peperoncino/ chili flakes (more or less)
Black pepper to taste
2 free range medium eggs
3 tbsp of ground flax seeds

Tomato Sauce

Olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 filets of anchovies
1 tbsp of organic tomato paste
1 can of chopped organic tomatoes
3/4 cups of organic passata (tomato purée)
1 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of peperoncino/ chili flakes
4 basil leaves, teared
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of capers

Instructions

1) In a small bowl, add oats and cover with hot water. Set aside until the water is fully absorbed. In a medium bowl, combine using your hands, beef, pork, onion, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, peperoncino, salt, pepper, and eggs. Add soaked oats and ground flax seeds to the mixture. Let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes.

2) While the mixture is resting make the tomato sauce. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutchoven over medium heat. Add garlic with a pinch of salt and stir until softened. Add anchovies and let them dissolve into the oil. Add tomato paste and let it cook for 4 minutes before stirring it in with the garlic. Stir in chopped tomatoes, passata, oregano, peperoncino, basil, salt, pepper and capers. Let the sauce simmer covered while you cook the polpette.

3) Shape your meat into your desired size balls using a table spoon or a ice cream scoop (you can rub some olive oil on the palms of your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking). Heat olive oil in a non toxic-non stick pan or cast Iron over medium heat. Cook the meatballs in batches, until coloured on each side, and set aside on a plate. Once they are all well coloured, add them with the brown bits and juices to the tomato sauce. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes.