Meatballs and Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is a combination of tomato and sweet pepper, delicious for a change of pace from regular tomato sauce.

Meatballs

1 pound of ground pork
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup Romano cheese grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 stalks fresh parsley leaves chopped
(keep the stems for the sauce)

In a medium bowl, mix the milk, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper thoroughly, then gently mix in the ground pork and parsley, until it is all mixed together but not compacted. Cover, let stand 20 minutes to let flavours develop. Roll into small balls using about 1/4 cup meat mixture for each meatball.

Romesco Sauce

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-14 ounce can of Italian tomatoes (Aurora)
1 cup water
1 large roasted red or orange pepper, chopped

Brown the meatballs in 2 tablespoons olive oil, when all are browned, remove carefully, sauté the onion and garlic use more oil if necessary, add tomatoes,water, and roasted red pepper, cook over medium heat and stir occasionally for about 20 minutes, using a hand blender, blend sauce til smooth, return meatballs to pan with sauce and simmer for 30 more minutes, enjoy with spaghetti, or make meatball sandwiches using good Italian bread, to soak up the sauce, top either choice with grated Romano cheese.