Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp sherry wine vinegar
½ cup brandy
1 cup red wine
1 cup port
2 cups beef stock or chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons green peppercorns in brine, drained and crushed
Coarse salt, to taste
Meatballs:
2 ½-inch thick slices white bread, crusts removed
1 cup whole milk
½ pound ground veal
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground beef
1½ teaspoons coarse salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup olive oil
1 Make the sauce: Heat the 2 Tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the mustard and sherry vinegar and reduce to half, about 1 minute. Add the brandy and cook to burn off the alcohol, about 3 minutes.
2 Add the red wine and port; reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Add the stock and reduce the mixture by half again, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, butter and crushed green peppercorns. Add salt to taste.
3 While the sauce is reducing, make the meatballs: Soak the bread in milk until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the milk and squeeze the bread out slightly. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread, veal, pork, beef, salt, pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta and parsley. Roll the mixture into meatballs the size of golf balls.
4 Heat the ¼ cup olive oil a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Fry the meatballs until crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside, about 12 minutes. Do this in batches so that the meatballs are not crowded. As the batches of meatballs are cooked, transfer them to 300-degree oven to stay warm while you finish cooking the meatballs and sauce. Serve the meatballs with the warm peppercorn sauce.
Serves 6.
