Rich, slow-simmered tomato sauce with herb-spiced meatballs is the kind of Sunday cooking that makes the whole house smell incredible — and this version skips dairy entirely without sacrificing a single bit of depth or comfort. Instead of breadcrumbs bound with parmesan, almond flour holds the beef and pork mixture together beautifully, keeping the meatballs tender and juicy from the inside out. Fennel seeds, turmeric, and fresh parsley bring a warmth and complexity to the meat that goes way beyond a basic Italian-American recipe. The sauce itself is built low and slow — San Marzano tomatoes, caramelized onion, garlic, and tomato paste cooked down until deeply brick-red before the meatballs ever hit the pot. That long simmer, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, is where everything comes together and the flavors meld into something genuinely special. Finished with torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil, this is the kind of meal you'll want to ladle over pasta, polenta, or whatever you have on hand — and then make again the following weekend.
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Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, almond flour, eggs, parsley, minced garlic, fennel seeds, turmeric, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands until just combined — stop as soon as no streaks remain.
Roll the meat mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (roughly 24 meatballs) and arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and roll to coat.
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