Parma Ham And Cranberry Stuffing Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 7/8 cup water
• 1 ounce butter
• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh sage, finely chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs sausage meat
• 14 ounces streaky bacon, finely chopped
• 7 ounces fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons walnuts, lightly crushed (optional)
• 1 lemon, zest of, finely grated
• 16 slices prosciutto
• vegetable oil, for dabbing

Recipe

• 1 put the cranberries and the sugar in a small saucepan. add in the water and stir, then heat until bubbling gently and stir again until the sugar has dissolved.
• 2 turn off the heat and leave to go cold. the berries should have softened and deflated slightly.
• 3 heat the butter in a frying pan. add in shallots and garlic and fry gently until the shallots have softened but not coloured. remove from heat.
• 4 mix in the sage and thyme then season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• 5 mix in the sausage meat, minced bacon, breadcrumbs, walnuts and lemon zest. use your fingers and make sure everything is well mixed together.
• 6 drain away the syrup from the cranberries, then stir the berries into the stuffing mix.
• 7 shape the stuffing into 8 balls, each the size of a large golf ball.
• 8 wrap each one in two slices of prosciutto. cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to firm up, ideally overnight.
• 9 once the turkey has finished roasting, preheat the oven to 400°f remove the plastic wrap from the stuffing balls and place them across a shallow roasting tin, leaving lots of space between them.
• 10 dab them all over with a little oil and roast for 30 minutes or so until crisped and cooked through.