Extraordinary Entree: Italian Meatballs

I love Italian food! Pizza, ravioli, stuffed shells, the list goes on and on, but nothing makes this girl happier than a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs!  I LOVE serving this at my dinner parties for two reasons: 1) my meatballs are to DIE for and 2) the sound of slurping spaghetti is music to my ears. I love watching people enjoy my cooking! The sound of slurping spaghetti is the icing of on the cake for this dish!

To be clear, I'm not Italian, but I know a good recipe when I see one.  I adopted this meatball recipe from a combination of recipes I've seen around the web and put this winner below together. Every time I make it I purposely make enough to have meatball sliders the next day for lunch (or sometimes breakfast!). My preparation may be a little different, my ingredients may be a little non-traditional, but believe me when I say you'll enjoy these moist morsels of deliciousness!

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley, chopped fine (no stems)
1-1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb mild bulk sausage
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive Oil cooking spray
3 - 6 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (or use my recipe below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Place the onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor and puree.  Slowly add the chicken stock to form a paste. You may not end up using all of the stock.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the puree, remainder chicken stock, spices, salt, red pepper flakes, and eggs. I like to call this the flavor mix.

Combine the flavor mix, meat, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.  Mix by hand until the mixture is uniform, do not over mix.

 


Put a little olive oil on your hands.  Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out the meat mixture, and form mixture into balls about the size of golf balls.

Lay foil on a sheet pan. Spray with olive oil cooking spray. 

Cook for 25 minutes. Turn meatballs, drain excess oil, and cook for another 25 minutes.

 

While meatballs are cooking, heat the marinara sauce in a large pot.

Transfer the meatballs to the pot with the marinara sauce and simmer for at least one hour.

 Serve alone or over your favorite pasta.  Use any leftovers for a delicious Italian Meatball Slider!

 

Makes about 20 meatballs.


MARINARA SAUCE ANYONE?

Again, I'm an expert, not of Italian cuisine, but of finding good recipes, making them my own, and cooking them. I've been making this sauce since I began cooking for myself in law school.

Ingredients
5 garlic cloves, roasted
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
or
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomato (for less sugar, 3 chopped roma tomatoes)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel cloves garlic and place them in a square of foil. Sprinkle the cloves with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Wrap up the foil and place it directly on the oven rack. (Be sure that the foil packet is secure so no oil will leak out.) Roast the garlic until it's brown and tender, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool enough to touch and squeeze the garlic from the skins. Set aside.

Saute onions and carrots with the oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomato paste and stir well. This will cook off the tomato paste and give a nice orangy color. Cook for about 10 minutes. When vegetables are softened add the roasted garlic, salt, sugar, and stir together until incorporated.
Pour in the tomatoes. Fill the empty can with water and add it to the pan. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Once sauce is ready carefully pour it into the food processor and puree until smooth.