Roasted Garlic Meatballs with Shiitake Mushroom Gravy!

For the Meatballs
1 lb ground pork, not the lean kind, pasture raised if possible
1 lb ground beef, grass fed if possible
about 12 cloves of garlic, 5 of them minced, keep the remaining whole for roasting
1 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp sea salt
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup of almond flour (can sub bread crumbs if you don’t have any almond flour)
1/4 cup of half and half cream (omit if dairy free - just make sure your meat is not extra lean, you can add an extra egg yolk)

For the Gravy
1 medium cooking onion finely diced
1.5 cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
3 tbsp + grass fed butter
1.5 tbsp fresh minced garlic or about 4-5 more cloves
3/4 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary
2 cups beef bone broth or stock
1/3 cup half and half cream or sub coconut milk for dairy free
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
optional but recommended: 1/2 - 1 organic beef boullion cubes or about 1/2 - 1 tbsp boullion paste (amount used depends on how flavourful and salty your stock is)
1/2 tsp sea salt or more to taste as needed
1/2 tbsp fresh cracked pepper or more to taste

Prep Meatballs First
1. combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
2. roll into even 1 - 1.5 inch balls, use an ice cream or cookie scoop to ensure even sizes, spread meatballs evenly over a large cookie sheet, they should all fit on one, they don’t need much space in between each, as they will shrink in size once cooked
3. add whole garlic cloves between meatballs, no need to add any oil to them as long as your meat was not extra lean, fat from the meatballs will end up covering the garlic cloves
4. bake in a preheated oven at 400 until internal temperature reached 165f, do not over cook to avoid dry meatballs, remove from the oven

Prepare Gravy as Meatballs Roast
1. In a medium sized cast iron pan or sauce pot saute onion in butter until browned, add sliced mushrooms and continue to saute for a few minutes
2. Add in minced garlic and rosemary, saute for one additional minute, do not allow garlic to brown or burn
3. Pour in your broth and stir to deglaze any bits that may have stuck to your pan
4. In a measuring cup whisk together tapioca flour with your cream of coconut milk
5. Slowly stir in the flour cream mixture to your gravy pan, while whisking to combine with the stock
6. Add in the remaining ingredients, mustard, worcestershire sauce, boullion and black pepper, taste your gravy before adding salt to see how much you will need
7. Continue to whisk gravy over a low heat until thickened to your liking, add salt and pepper to taste
8. Add cooked meatballs into your gravy to rewarm, serve over roasted or mashed potatoes, or rice

Enjoy!