meatballs from a connoisseur
When my husband and I were dating, I clearly recall sitting down at a local restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives where my now husband ordered meatballs. They were big for meatballs – maybe slightly smaller than a tennis ball – and came with a beautiful vibrant red sauce that glistened. The color was bright and it had the texture of a finely diced onion and maybe some garlic coated in sauce. Three meatballs, red sauce, and nothing else. Well, maybe a side of bread. After tasting them, he thought he was in heaven and started to break apart the meat to see what they used. It seemed like, from there, a meatball obsession grew. You can rest assured that this recipe grew out of that season and is the fruit of his research.
Meatballs are incredibly versatile. You can make them with any kind of ground meat, combinations of ground meat, and as quick and easy as you’d like or take a bit more time, like with this recipe, to add layers of flavor. If we’re making meatballs for a proper dinner, this is our go to recipe. However, I have other recipes I use or make up if I just need to get a protein heavy meal on the table quickly. One of my favorites is sheet pan meatballs with roasted broccoli. It comes together quick and is very satisfying.
meatballs
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bread
- 2 lbs ground beef, 80/20
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 1-2 stalks of celery, cut into 3-4 pieces each
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3-4 pieces
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp white (or black) pepper
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup dried breadcrumbs, as needed
Instructions
First, place the slices of bread in a bowl and cover with water for 1-2 minutes. Add ground beef to a large mixing bowl. Wring out the water from the bread and tear into small pieces adding to the bowl. Next place onion, celery, carrot, garlic, raisins, and a pinch of salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until processed into the equivalent of finely shredded coconut. Add contents from bowl of food processor to mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix with hands until everything is well incorporated. You can use as much or as little of the dried breadcrumbs as needed to ensure that the meatball holds together and doesn’t fall apart.
Preheat the oven to 325F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. I like to use a 1” scoop to create cookie or golf ball sized meatballs consistently and then roll each individually by hand to shape. It feels like the scoop not only provides consistency but speeds up the process of portioning. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Serve with your choice of pasta or my favorite, oven-roasted broccoli. You can serve these with a sauce or on their own, again they’re very versatile. In the pictures here, I served with oven roasted broccoli and a vodka sauce.
Notes
Inspired by:
The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual
Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives
Crockett's Public House