Almond Flour Meatballs

1. Fill a medium bowl with 3/4 cup beef stock, and sprinkle in 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder. Wait for a couple of minutes to hydrate. Mix the gelatin with a fork. If not fully dissolved/lumpy, take it to the microwave in few seconds increments, until it's completely liquid. Do not boil the mixture.
2. Add the 3/4 cup almond flour to the dissolved gelatin, and mix it well.
3. Refrigerate it until solid (about 2 hours), then crush it with a fork until it turns into soft crumbs.
4. In a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium onion and 4 to 6 garlic cloves and sweat in medium heat until they are translucent. Then turn down the heat and continue cooking until they are a deep golden brown color. Let them cool.
5. Mix 2 pounds ground beef, 1 large egg, 1/2 tablespoon salt (or to taste), 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon thyme, the almond flour and gelatin "breadcrumbs" and the cooked onion and garlic.
6. Form the meatballs, shaping them by hand. You can make about 24 ping-pong size meatballs from one recipe. Do not press them hard, just enough to keep the shape.

Meatball cooking instructions

Air fried

1. Preheat the air fryer to 200 °C (400 °F). Spread the meatballs in the basket in a single layer, leaving some space in between them for the hot air to circulate.
2. Cook each batch of meatballs until they are lightly browned and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes (add 4-5 minutes if cooking from frozen).
3. Pan-fried
4. Add a thin layer of olive oil or another fat (like lard) to a nonstick saucepan.
5. Cook the meatballs on medium-high heat until they are browned (about 10 minutes) flipping them every couple of minutes so that they will cook evenly and to avoid burning.
6. Oven baked meatballs
7. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F), static. For a fan oven (convection), decrease the temperature to 190 °C (375 °F).
8. Line the baking pan with foil or parchment paper, and spray with olive oil. Place the meatballs on the pan leaving some distance between them for even cooking.
9. Bake the meatballs for about 20 - 22 minutes, until browned.