Traditional Italian Meatballs
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500 grams ground meat (beef and pork)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 slices bread remove crusts, I use 1 day old Italian and if it is extra thick use 2 slices
- 1 eggs
- 60 grams freshly grated cheese (Grana Padano cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tbsp dry basil or 4 fresh basil leaves, cut by hand
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp parsley
- 800 grams can crushed tomatoes or passata
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 220 C or 430 F.
- Place bread into a small bowl, add in the milk to moisten. Allow the bread to soak up all the moisture.
- Place the meat into a large bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients, the eggs, the cheese, the seasonings and the moistened bread. (Crumble the moistened bread with your hands when adding to the meat). Mix the contents of the bowl well.
- Shape into round meatballs, approximately 50 grams each.
- Cover a baking tray with baking paper and brush with olive oil. Place meatballs onto the baking tray.
- Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, they will not be fully cooked but ready to add into the sauce to continue cooking,.
For the sauce
- Homemade Italian meatballs must be smothered in a delicious tomato sauce (sugo), follow the steps below to create the perfect marinara sauce for this dish.
- In a very large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Stir in minced garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking just until fragrant. About 2 minutes, do not brown the garlic.
- Turn heat down to medium-low and add all 800 grams of crushed tomatoes or passata, stirring well. Stir in all spices. Cover pot with lid. Allow mixture to come to a boil. Add 1/2 cup water. Lower to simmer and cook sauce for 15 minutes (lid on). Add the precooked meatballs into the sauce and continue cooking an additional 45 minutes (lid 3/4 of the way on). This is to thicken the sauce. The longer the cooking, the stronger the flavor.
Notes
If you decide to bake the meatballs, place on baking sheet with baking paper. Drizzle meatballs with olive oil and bake at 240 C for about 20 minutes.An excellent idea for a change of pace is to shred approximately 1/2 cup of mozzarella, sprinkle on top of the meatballs and bake in the oven until melted.