The Savory Meatballs of the Valley

In summer, when these meatballs are on the menu of the Auberge, Mademoiselle Vivette climbs to the fields on the upper slopes around the edges of the forest and picks the young leaves of the wild strawberry spinach, which are then finely chopped and used to spice the ground pork. In New York, having no forests or strawberry spinach, I pick out the small young leaves of our domestic spinach and find that they serve me very well. They seem to balance and lighten the aromatic strength of the <