Polish Marjoram Pork Meatballs in Sour Cream Gravy

From the garden

• ⅓ cup fresh marjoram, leaves stripped and finely chopped, divided · about 4 tablespoons chopped; use 2 tablespoons dried if that is what you have
• 2 medium yellow onion, 1 grated for the meatballs, 1 thinly sliced for the gravy
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lb potatoes, peeled and boiled, for serving

From the pantry

• 1½ lb ground pork
• ½ cup dry breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• ½ cup sour cream
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Put the potatoes on to boil in salted water while you work; they take 20–25 minutes and can wait in the pot. Stir the breadcrumbs into the milk in a large bowl and let them soak 5 minutes.
2. Add the pork, grated onion, garlic, egg, half the marjoram, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and a good grind of pepper to the soaked crumbs. Mix with your hands just until it comes together; overworking makes them tough. Wet your hands and roll into 16 meatballs about the size of a golf ball.
3. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown the meatballs in batches, 2–3 minutes per side, until well crusted; they will finish in the sauce. Move them to a plate.
4. Lower the heat to medium, add the sliced onion (and mushrooms, if using) to the drippings, and cook 6–8 minutes until soft and golden. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 1 minute, then whisk in the stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits.
5. Return the meatballs and any juices to the pan, cover, and simmer 10–12 minutes, turning once, until they reach 160°F in the center and the gravy has thickened.
6. Off the heat, stir in the sour cream and the remaining marjoram; adding it now keeps its sweet, floral flavor, which fades with long cooking. Taste for salt and pepper and serve over the boiled potatoes, mashed roughly with a fork and a knob of butter.