Meatballs in Tarragon Mustard Sauce

These are truly melt in your mouth, flavorful meatballs!  Tender ground veal gently simmered in a beef broth and then bathed to perfection in a simmering tarragon mustard sauce.  Meatballs have become so popular, as fun to me as creating endless types of hamburgers and their topping and sauces in the summer months.  These can be made bite size for a tapas party and giant size for a cool presentation on a dinner plate.   For my son’s dinner, I opted to go with the standard, at least in my home, meatball size. 

 I could, and did, just spoon out the sauce to lick straight up…it was that good!  The flavor can vary depending on what type of Dijon mustard is used and I like fresh tarragon with a mustard sauce.   The meatballs can be made ahead and gently rewarmed with the sauce and leftovers, if any, are just as amazing the next day!

 Meatballs in Tarragon Mustard Sauce

 1 lb. ground veal

½ cup bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

2 ½ cups beef broth

 For the sauce:

1 ¾ cup beef broth (strained from above)

6 tablespoons heavy cream

3 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

 Mix the ground veal, beaten egg, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, salt and pepper.  In a medium large saucepan, bring 2 ½ cups beef broth to a boil.  Add the meatballs and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.  Remove from broth and set aside.  Strain broth and return 1 ¾ cup back into saucepan and bring to boil.  Dilute the cornstarch in a little cold water and add to the stock.  Add 6 tablespoons heavy cream, Dijon mustard, tarragon, cayenne and turmeric.    As the sauce begins to thicken, return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer and additional 10 minutes.  Serve immediately or make ahead and reheat gently.  Makes approximately 6 large meatballs.