Brrrrrrrrr.. Fall has officially arrived here in San Francisco. Jack frost and associates arrived late last night on the red eye! You know the switch when your favorite slippers have to come out of retirement and your food cravings go from grilled fish to braised meats. Today I want to talk about the classic meatball… Momma Mia, the Swedish Chef and all things juicy. And who doesn’t love meatballs? I mean really.. rich, airy, sweet, crispy nuggets of meat. Great with pasta, on toasted sub rolls with melty cheese, in soups or simply on it’s own.

Classics like deviled eggs, grilled cheese, clam chowder, blts, éclairs, and balls of meat never go out of style and will forever turn adults into giddy little kids.. fond memories of times past! So on this brisk morning I want to share this simple basic meatball recipe with you. Put on some Sinatra, light a fire and have a ball making this classic tasty dish!

Happy Cooking!

Meatballs
Makes 20 small meatballs

Ingredients
For the sauce
6 cups fresh tomato concassé or canned Italian plum tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch of fresh basil
salt and pepper

For the balls
3 pounds ground beef or pork (or combine the two)
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Italian (non flavored) bread crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, chopped and sautéed with wine and herbs

Special Equipment
Large braising pan

Instructions
For the sauce
Poach the garlic cloves in the olive oil over low heat with a pinch of salt and pepper until the garlic begins to brown. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 of the basil. Simmer for about 1/2 an hour, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time to prevent the sauce from drying out. Continue to stir as the sauce simmers. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Process in blender until smooth. Chop the remaining basil and add to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

For the Balls
In a large bowl, mix meat with eggs. Then add bread crumbs, cheese and salt and pepper. Finally add minced garlic, onions and herbs.
Roll up the balls. Get the pan nice and hot. Add a squirt of vegetable oil. Cook meat balls until they are brown and crispy. Add the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve
Serve with pasta, on a roll or eat on it’s own.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am and is filed under Sides & Snacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.