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1.
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Soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes.
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2.
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In a large bowl, combine the meat with the shallot, parsley, soaked bread and egg.
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Season with salt, pepper and a pinch or 2 of nutmeg.
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3.
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Mix well using your hands.
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Use your hands to make 8 meatballs, or more if you prefer them smaller in size.
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4.
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Heat some butter in a large casserole pot over medium heat.
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Make sure to use a pot with a lid.
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Brown the meatballs on all sides.
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I recommend that you do this in 2 batches.
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Set the cooked meatballs aside while you do the second batch.
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Dont discard any of the grease thats left in the pan.
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5.
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Add the sugar to the vinegar and pour it into the pot with the grease.
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Continue to heat the mixture and stir to deglaze the pot.
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Then add the onions and the herbs.
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You can add or substitute any herb that tickles your fancy here.
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My nan used to put in a bay leaf instead of the dried laurel.
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Stir around for a few minutes.
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6.
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Bring back to low heat and carefully place the meatballs on top of the onions.
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Add water until the meatballs are halfway covered.
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Put the lid on and let simmer for at least 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked.
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7.
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Take out the meatballs.
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Scoop out some of the onions as well if you like a bit of texture in the sauce.
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Or leave them in if you want it silky smooth.
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Set the meatballs and onions aside somewhere warm.
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8.
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Add molasses to the remaining contents of the pot.
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In Belgium, we use Sirop de Liege, which is essentially a thick sort of molasses made with apple and pear juice.
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But any molasses will do really.
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It will add a bit of sweetness and depending on which type youve used, it will lend the sauce a lovely deep brown color.
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If youre not into molasses, you can just skip this step and add a little brown sugar or jam instead.
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Try apricot.
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Yum.
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9.
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Mix everything up with one of those nifty immersion mixers.
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Blend until the sauce has a silky smooth texture.
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Or pour the lot into a blender and blend until smooth.
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Then return it to the pot over medium heat.
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Thicken the mixture with a little starch if desired (mix the starch with an equal amount of water first, to avoid lumps).
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10.
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Return the meatballs (and onions) to the pot and let everything get nice and warm again before serving.
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In my family, we traditionally serve this with French fries and lettuce.
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Then again, here in Belgium, we serve fries and lettuce with basically anything.
