Apple and Sage Pork Meatballs

Recipe for Tart Apple Sauce

Apple and Sage Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 1 Apple, I like Granny Smith, or Golden delicious for this recipe
• 1 small Onion
• 1-2 Cup Fresh Bread Crumb
• 1 Pound Ground Pork
• About 6-8 Fresh Sage leaves, or 3 Tablespoons dried
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 2-3 Teaspoons Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1 Teaspoon Allspice

Instructions:

1. Allow the ground pork to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. 
2. Place the pork in a large stainless steel bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F
4. Finely chop the apple and the onion. Add the chopped onion and apple to the pork. Mix gently just to incorporate the two.
5. Season the mixture with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice. Finely chop the sage and also add it to the bowl. Stir gently to mix.
6. Lightly beat the egg and add it along with about 1 cup of bread crumbs. Using your hands combine everything together. 
7. If the mixture is too wet and not forming balls well, then add about 1/4 cup more bread crumbs at a time until the texture is right.
8. Form the mixture into about 1 inch in diameter balls, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes and check to see if they are cooked. 
10. Once cooked through remove from oven and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Found this lovely little recipe hiding in one of my old hand written cookbooks. I remember making them several times and loving them, and then I apparently must have forgotten about them. Must be trying out too many new foods lately to get bored and search through my personal archives for things to try and pull together for supper.

Also, I am in the full swing of Christmas; house has been cleaned from top to bottom, tree is up and decorations are all around. I have most of my shopping done but that still leaves me with about one hundred woman hours of crafting work to be done. So my cooking might take a turn for tried and tested favorites and less new and exciting things. But oh well, tis the season to get nostalgic for home and comfort foods you know and love!

So these are a simple little recipe that gives a big reward in flavor at the end. The onion and apple in the meat mixture help prevent the meatballs from drying out, and the reasonable low cooking temperature also helps keep moist and delicious. I usually serve these plain without any sauce, but they are excellent with some apple sauce or honey. They are also great because they can go well with almost any side from potatoes any way you want them, buttered egg noodles, rice, salads or even just alone for an appetizer or as a party snack with tooth picks so your guests can eat them easily. You can also totally freeze these and reheat them later.

Ps. The first step in this recipe is to let the pork stand at room temperature for a bit, that is because I find the ground meat is too cold to work with happily if it goes straight from the fridge.