Italian meatballs are a timeless classic. Each bite delivers a perfect balance of rich, meaty flavor and subtle sweetness for a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Simmered in your favorite sauce, these hearty meatballs are perfect for pairing with all your classic pasta dishes, for a classic meatball sub, or savoring as a standalone appetizer.
These meatballs will convince people that you have an Italian Nonna who taught you how to cook.
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion (finely diced)
2 celery stalks (finely diced)
2 carrots (finely diced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
10 leaves of fresh sage (or 2 tsp ground)
10 sprigs of thyme stripped
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp fennel, crushed
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 oz white bread
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup Italian parsley chopped
+20 leaves of fresh basil
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese finely grated
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
2 large eggs
1.5 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1.5 lbs ground pork
Directions:
Make the sauce before the meatballs. Simmer for 30-40 min. You will add the meatballs to this at the end.
A great goto sauce is the Buca Di Beppo sauce.
In a medium heat pan, add oil then sauté the finely diced veg, 10-12 min till very soft. Add the garlic 1/2 way through.
Take off the heat then add sage, thyme, red pepper, fennel, salt & pepper. Stir together and let sit. Remove to tray to cool. Put in freezer for 10 min to cool quickly.
Rip up the bread into a bowl. Pour the milk over, mix then set aside for a few min.
Add the chilled veg, parsley & basil to the bread and milk then mix to combine.
Add the eggs and both cheeses, mix.
Add the beef & pork, mix.
Prehead the oven to 400 degrees.
Cook 1 meatball to test before cooking the whole batch. Just make a small patty and cook in a pan. Adjust seasoning.
Form the meatballs (small = 1 inch, large = 2 inch), then bake in a 400-degree oven for 15 min for small, 20 minutes for large.
Place meatballs into sauce and cook for 45min to 1 hour.
Notes:
Makes 33 1.5 in meatballs.