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Meatballs with Wine Sauce over Polenta is one fantastic comfort food! They are amazing and simple to make!! gameandgarden.com

Meatballs with Rosemary Garlic Red Wine Sauce over Cheesy Polenta

While these meatballs are delicious over polenta or grits, they also work beautifully over rice, potatoes, and pasta.
5 from 5 votes
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Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian

Ingredients
  

For the Meatballs

  • 6 cups day-old bread, cut into 1/4” cubes
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 large onions, peeled and quartered
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • olive oil for sautéing
  • 1 lb ground venison
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp Kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more for plating

For the Sauce

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 1 qt whole peeled tomatoes (I crush them by hand)
  • 2 tbsp red pepper flakes

For the Polenta

  • quick-cook polenta or grits
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

For the Meatballs

  • In a shallow pan, soak the bread in the milk for 2 minutes. Squeeze the bread to remove excess moisture, and then place the bread in a large bowl.
  • In a food processor, pulse the peeled onions and rosemary leaves. Then place them into a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and allow the liquid to evaporate from the mixture for about 20 minutes, or until the onion mixture is lightly caramelized.
  • Meanwhile, add the venison, pork, eggs, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, and parsley to the bread. Once the onions are caramelized, add them to the meat mixture and lightly mix all the ingredients until incorporated. Divide into 18 equal-sized meatballs a little larger than a golf ball.
  • In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat oil over medium heat until almost smoking. Add the meatballs in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Cook the meatballs until brown on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove cooked meatballs to a plate.

For the Sauce

  • Drizzle olive oil into the same skillet used to make the meatballs. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, wine, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

For the Polenta

  • Meanwhile, cook the polenta according to the packet instructions until you have a creamy consistency, adding the butter and grated Parmesan at the end.

Put It All Together

  • Gently toss the meatballs through the sauce and serve over the polenta. Scatter a few extra parsley leaves over the dish along with an extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese, if you like.
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