Tuna Meatballs with Fennel Tomato Sauce

Tuna is a staple in the Mediterranean diet, and, just as with other meats, little is wasted. Meatballs made from scraps of tuna appear in several cultures, but the Sicilians seem to eat them the most. This recipe is an amalgam of about a dozen I've read, and it works well either as a stand-alone dish or, American-style, with tomato sauce and spaghetti. If you can't get fresh tuna (you cannot use canned tuna here), use amberjack, mackerel, bluefish, king mackerel, wahoo or any dark, meaty fish.

1½ lbs fresh tuna, chopped into ½" pieces
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup pistachios or almonds, shelled, chopped
1 cup onion, minced
½ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 lemon, freshly zested
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 egg
flour, for dusting
olive oil, for frying

Fennel Tomato Sauce:
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fennel, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
¼ cup ouzo or other anise-flavoured liqueur
1 qt tomato sauce, seeded, crushed tomatoes or chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Tbsp. pure honey
1 Tbsp. fresh mint or lemon verbena, chopped
sea salt

Garnish:
Parmesan, pecorino or mizythra cheese, finely grated

For the Fennel Tomato Sauce:
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a wide, deep pan or a large pot. When the oil is hot, add the fennel and onion and saute for 4-5 minutes, until translucent. Sprinkle some salt over everything while they are cooking. Don't let the veggies brown - turn down the heat if you need to. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two.

Pour in the ouzo and let this boil until it is reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, honey and mint and mix well. Taste for salt and add some if needed. Let this simmer gently for 30 minutes.

For the Tuna Meatballs:
Put the tuna, mint, pistachios and the chopped onion in a food processor and pulse to combine. You want a rough mixture, not a smooth paste. Put the tuna mixture into a large bowl with the breadcrumbs, salt, lemon zest and egg and mix well with your clean hands for a minute or so. You want everything combined well and you want the proteins in the egg and tuna to bind the mixture.

Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon to scoop out the meat, roll into meatballs. You should be able to make about 20 golf ball-sized meatballs. Roll each meatball in flour and fry in enough olive oil to come half way up the sides of a large frying pan. You will probably need about ½ cup. Fry gently until browned over medium heat, about 15-20 minutes, and set each finished meatball on paper towels to drain.

To finish, stew the meatballs in the tomato sauce (you can use any tomato sauce you want, if you'd rather not make the tomato-fennel sauce) until heated through, about 5-10 minutes, and serve alone or with pasta. Garnish with Parmesan.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Notes: The meatballs can be made a day ahead, and, once cooked, will store in the fridge for a couple days or in the freezer for a couple months.