David Rocco's Favorite Meatballs

From David Rocco's Made in Italy

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes or so
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1lb/450g extra lean ground beef

3 1/2 oz/100g fresh ricotta cheese
10 sun dried tomatoes finely chopped

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste (I left the salt out completely)

Flour for dredging ( a couple of tablespoons)
Wine Sauce:
4 tbsp  extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
5 sun dried tomatoes, halved

1 cup white wine

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, ricotta, sun dried tomates, Parmigiano and Salt and pepper.  Mix well (David and I use our hands... you might prefer a spoon, but I love the feel of it all as it mixes together).

2. Make golf ball size patties and gently flatten them so they cook evenly.  To help form a "beautiful crust" lightly dredge with flour shaking off any excess.   Set aside.

3. In a large skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil and when it's very hot, add the meatballs.  (David adds the garlic and sun dried tomatoes at the same time, but I wait until I flip the patties so that the garlic and tomatoes don't burn.)  Once the meatballs are golden on both sides, add the wine  and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium and let it cook for five more minutes or until the sauce  to about 1/3rd and forms a thick sauce.

The meatballs would be great served as a stew, with creamy mashed potatoes, or as I did with a simple pasta.  

Sonia's Swedish Meatballs

From  Every Kitchen Tells ItsStories

Printable Recipe

Hands on time: 30 minutes

Cooking time : 1½ - 2 hours

Serves: 4-6 as a main with rice

Makes: 4½ -5 dozen appetizers (served with toothpicks)

Ingredients: 

3 lbs/1.3 kg minced beef &/or chicken

1 package onion soup mix (¼ cup/1.5 oz/40 g)

½ cup water

2 tbsp bread crumbs

Sauce:

1 bottle (14 oz/455 ml) chili sauce (American style)

4 oz/ 125 ml grape or apple jelly

½ cup ginger ale

8 oz/250 ml apricot preserves

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.       Combine first four ingredients in bowl and make the meatballs – about the size of a golf ball (soup spoon).

2.       In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce.

3.       Cook the sauce over medium high heat until jelly has melted and sauce is thoroughly mixed (about 5 minutes).

4.       Add meat balls (10 or so at a time), shake to coat with the sauce before adding more meatballs. Continue to add in batches of 10 until all the meatballs are in the pot.  Simmer uncovered for the first 30 minutes.  Gently (to avoid the meatballs from turning into mush.  shake the pot occasionally to coat the meatballs and ensure even cooking.  After about 1 hour gently use a spoon to stir the pot. Continue to cook for another hour or so.  Take the bay leaf out after 30 minutes.

If you are serving the meatballs as a cocktail appetizer, drain most of the sauce off, toss with some jelly and place on a cookie sheet under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize the jelly.  Stick the meatballs with decorative toothpicks and, voila!

As a main course they go very nicely over garlic mashed potatoes, steamed rice (a little saffron turns it a gorgeous golden color), or couscous, to soak up the delicious gravy.  Serve it with a side dish of broccoli or green beans and you have a healthy, colorful, and scrumptious meal.

Morrocan Style Meat Balls

From my old Joan Nathan’ Jewish Holiday Kitchen which seems to be out of print, although she has a few replacement books that look wonderful.

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Makes 18

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 lb/450 g ground beef
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup matzo meal/bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt & pepper
Sauce:
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup water
Juice of 1 lemon


Directions: :
1. Mix all the ingredients together for the meatballs and roll into walnut/golf ball sized balls. I used a small ice cream scoop.

2. In another bowl combine the ingredients for the sauce.

3. In a heavy large pot over medium high heat,(I use my Dutch oven) bring the sauce to a boil. Add the meatballs and simmer uncovered in the sauce until cooked. (about 20 minutes). Try to leave some space between meatballs, adding them slowly to the sauce. I add more once the ones in the pan start to brown. It keeps them from sticking to each other and forming a giant meat ball.

I loved them served over mashed sweet potatoes. The contrast of spicy to sweet was perfect.

Ina's Spicy Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti

Spicy Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti
From Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes
Roasting time (meatballs): 35-40 minutes
Final cooking time: 20 minutes (boiling pasta and warming sauce)

Serves 8

Ingredients:
3 cups bread crumbs from round rustic bread, crusts removed, cut into 1” pieces
2/3 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
2 lb/900g ground turkey (I used ground chicken)
8oz/226g Italian sausage, casings removed (I used my favorite sweet fennel Italian)
4oz/114g thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated (Ina grates it using a chunk of cheese in a food processor with the regular steel blade in the bowl)
½ cup fresh Italian/flat leaf parsley, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes
3 tbsp good olive oil, plus some for brushing the meatballs
2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
3 jars (24oz/650ml) good marinara sauce (I like Classico, Ina likes Rao’s)
2lb/900g dried spaghetti (this time I used farfalle - little boys favorite)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (foil is better for easy clean up).

2. Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the bread is in medium crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a small bowl and add the milk. Toss and set aside for 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, the turkey (or chicken), sausage, prosciutto, bread mixture, Asiago, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes and lightly combine with your hands. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and eggs, stir lightly with a fork to combine.

4. Lightly roll the mixture with your hands into 2” round meatballs and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Brush with olive oil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are browned and the centers completely cooked.
Ruth’s note: you will not believe how awesome your kitchen will smell.

5. Pour the marinara sauce into a large low pot (I used my Dutch oven), add the meatballs and bring to a simmer.

6. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (8-10 minutes depending on the type of pasta). Drain and either serve as Ina does – in individual bowls topped by 3 meatballs and sauce. Or…
place the pasta in a large serving bowl, top with lots of meatballs and sauce for a more casual presentation and serve at the table. Have a bowl of grated Parmesan at the table for sprinkling on top or a block of cheese and grate over each serving..

Serve with a simple green salad.

Ina's Italian Wedding Soup

Ina's Italian Wedding Soup
From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
This is the best version I’ve ever tried!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time for meatballs: 30 minutes
Cooking time for soup: 30 minutes or so
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
Meatballs: makes about 40 (I will probably never fry meatballs again)
¾ lb/340g ground chicken
½ lb/225g chicken sausages, casings removed
2/3 cups fresh bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs instead)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigianino Regianno cheese, plus extra for serving
3 tbsp milk
1 extra large egg (I actually used 2 large eggs), lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
2 tbsp good olive oil
1 cup yellow onions, minced (I just quartered them and pulsed them in the food processor)
1 cup ¼” diced carrots (2-3 depending on the size of the carrots)
¾ cup ¼” diced celery
10 cups chicken broth (Ina’s sounds wonderful, but I just used some boxed broth this time)
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta like tubetini or stars (I couldn’t find either so I used cute tiny bowties…after all this is a “Wedding” soup)
¼ cup fresh dill, minced
12 oz/340g baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions:
Meatballs:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/176°C and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients gently with a fork. Using a teaspoon, drop small (1” or so) meatballs onto the baking sheet. They don’t have to be perfectly round.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

I may never fry meatballs again! A very health friendly way to cook up your favorite kind of meatballs without any extra fat. I actually made the meatballs the day before serving the soup.

Soup:
1. Heat the olive oil over medium low heat in a large heavy bottomed Dutch oven (or really large pot). Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened (about 6 minutes or so), stirring occasionally.

2. Add the chicken broth and wine and bring to a boil. (I did this step the day before the dinner party too.)

3. If you choose to make the soup base and meatballs in advance, remember to bring the meatballs to room temperature and heat the soup to just boiling before continuing. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook until the pasta is tender (5-6 minutes – the pasta is tiny). Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup. Simmer for a couple of minutes to make sure the meatballs are heated through. Taste for seasoning.

4. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes (just until the spinach leaves wilt). Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

I served it with Ina’s Parmesan & Thyme Crackers which were very tasty, but I have to make them again…this time not so crumbly.