Meatballs

We love my mom's meatball recipe so we are sharing it with "olive" you. There are a few different ways to cook meatballs and no way is the right way except the way you enjoy them.

You can cook your meatballs any way you want but there are three basic recipes: cooking them in oil in a saute pan, baking them or putting them directly into sauce (uncooked). I love the flavor and texture of meatballs cooked in sauce, especially if the sauce is full of flavor. Letting them fully cook in sauce makes them so tender, they almost fall apart and some of the meat actually does fall apart into the sauce. Tomato Sauce recipe 

Ingredients:

Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Olive Oil Etcetera - use oil if you are cooking them in a pan or browning them before cooking them in the pot of sauce

2 pounds Ground beef or a mix of pork/veal and ground meat or use turkey/chicken

2 Eggs

3/4 cup grated cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tablespoons diced parsley

1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs

Directions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, except olive oil. Then add 1/2 cup water to mixture to moisten bread crumbs. Form the mixture into balls.  Simmer for a 1/2 hour or so in tomato sauce and they will be tender and moist. Or cook them in the oven or saute pan but they will be more firm than meatballs cooked in sauce. 

*Recipe is from my Mom's Kitchen and adapted along the way 

Tomato Sauce Recipe

Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

2 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

4 garlic cloves - sliced or chopped 

salt and pepper 

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic; paying attention not to let it burn but to brown it. Add the canned tomatoes to the pan and the salt and pepper. As you get use to this recipe try adding a small amount of good red wine, add sugar if the tomatoes are acidic and add other seasonings such as parsley, oregano, etc. 

The key to a great sauce is to modify it as you cook and taste it along the way so you can change the flavor.