Meatball Galore!

I love meatballs. Who doesn’t? Well, I like them for a few different reasons: they are tasty, fun to eat, easy to make, and they stretch! What I mean by stretch is that I only have to do the work once and get multiple dinners out of it. You can double (or even triple) up the recipe, make a whole bunch of meatballs once, freeze them and have them for another time. How beautiful is that??

Now, before I go on and divulge my recipe, I have to say this: if you grew up in a large Italian family and your mom has a secret recipe that has been passed down to her by her mother, who received it from her mother before that, and who in turn got it from her mother (you catch my drift), and you only believe in the traditional Italian meatball, then WARNING! WARNING!: this recipe may not be for you. This is not a traditional meatball recipe.

I have had a many discussions with SB’s Italian friends and have come to find out that in some Italian families the making of “The Meatball” is like a religion. Who knew!

While I don’t mean to be sacrilegious to “The Meatball” :) here is my spin on it. I generally like different textures in my food, so I have added a few ingredients that will provide for a little bit of crunch while it still remains a light and fluffy meatball.

• 1 small grated onion
• 2 small (or 1 large) finely grated carrots
• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 garlic cloves, very finely minced (use your microplane if you have one. If you don’t it’s worth investing in one. I use mine ALL the time!)
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 pounds of lean beef
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together with your hands and form little balls. The meat mixture may be a little wet but don’t be alarmed – that’s just how it should be. We don’t want a dry meatball. Yuck! Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

You can serve them with pasta and marinara sauce (my own marinara recipe to follow soon). Sprinkle some finely chopped chive on top and it will look like a gourmet meal! You can also serve them on a brioche roll with perhaps some garlic mayo. Or eat them like SB eats them and have them plain, as a snack!!

Happy eating!!

J