Moldy Meatballs

Just kidding- It's Moldavian Meatballs. And it's the third Russian dish in our exciting cook off (see: http://cupcakeandthecaseys.blogspot.com/). Amy and I have gotten back on the rotation of cooking recipes from "Please to the Table"
Well, all I can say about Mold.Meatballs is, if you LOVE chopping things- have I got a dish for you.
Meatballs: Mush together 1 1/4 lb ground pork, 8 oz ground beef, 1 medium grated onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 c. ice-cold milk, 1 large beaten egg, 3 T. bread crumbs, and 3 T. finely chopped fresh parsley. Cover and put in the Fridge as you get ready for the chop-a-paloza sauce.
Sauce:
4 cloves garlic, peeled and 1 red bell pepper, minced together in food processor.
3 T Veg. oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 leek (white plus 1 inch of green, well rinsed) and chopped
1 med carrot, peeled and julienned
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 1/2 t. flour
1 c. beef stock
1/4 cup dry red wine (at this point you can have a glass for yourself after all the chopping)
1 c. canned Italian plum tomatoes. Drain, seed and you guessed it: CHOPPED
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 t. sugar
1 t. hot paprika
1 t. sweet paprika (In South Carolina we only have ONE kind of paprika so I just used 2 t. of it!)
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Flour for sprinkling on the meat.

Ok- If you hopefully have all your fingers after drinking that wine and chopping like an iron chef- this is the part where you start cooking.

Saute the garlic and red pepper in the hot oil for 5 minutes. Add the leek, carrot, and celery, saute for 10 min. Add the peppers and garlic, saute for 3 more minutes.
Have another glass of wine.
Sprinkle flour over the veggies add stock, wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, paprika, and salt and pepper. Stir well and take down to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes.
While that is cooking shape your meatballs into 1 1/2 inch balls. Sprinkle with flour. Melt butter in skillet. Brown the meatballs lightly on all sides.

Add the browned meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Finish off the rest of the wine.
Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve over noodles, rice, or polenta. Top with sour cream (I forgot that!) and fresh herbs (more chopping- yay!!!)Enjoy! This was a pretty good one. Left overs today were even better!