Make Ahead

Sage-and-Walnut Pork Meatballs

by:
January  5, 2012
4
1 Ratings
Sage-and-Walnut Pork Meatballs
  • Makes 30 golf-ball sized meatballs
Author Notes

Who doesn't like a good meatball? I thought pork might work better than beef in letting the flavors of the sage and walnuts shine through. I added a few other ingredients and was left with a meatball with definite Italian leanings. I ate one for lunch on toasted Italian sesame bread with marinara sauce, but you could just as easily serve them with pasta, on a toothpick on their own, in a Asian-inspired sandwich, in a soup.. the list goes on. I looked to The Meatball Shop cookbook for cooking-method advice. —Cristina Sciarra

Test Kitchen Notes

cristinasciarra's recipe makes for lovely, well seasoned meatballs. I especially liked the contrasting textures of the nuts and meat. Her instructions are great, and it's very easy since you don't fry them, but bake them all at once in a baking dish. So far we have had them with a red sauce, on a hero, in a vegetable soup, and I have portions frozen so we'll be eating them all winter. Which makes me happy. I didn't taste as much sage as I would have liked, so I might up the amount - even double - the next time I make them. And I will make them again. —deanna1001

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons chopped sage
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup ricotta
  • 2 pounds ground pork shoulder
  • 2 large eggs
  • sea salt, black pepper
Directions
  1. Toast the walnuts: on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet, at 350F for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, then roughly chop.
  2. In a medium pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage, and cook until fragrant. Add the garlic. After about 1 minute, add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. Turn off the heat, and allow to cool.
  3. Transfer the onion/garlic mixture to a large bowl. Mix in the lemon juice and zest, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan, ricotta and toasted chopped walnuts. Add the ground pork shoulder and the eggs and mix gently by hand until completely incorporated. Add salt and pepper, to taste. (You can test this by cooking just a small amount of the mixture.)
  4. Preheat the oven to 450F. Roll balls a little larger than a golf ball. Set the balls next to each other inside a glass baking dish. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a meatball reads 165F. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
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  • Ms. T
    Ms. T
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  • Cristina Sciarra
    Cristina Sciarra
  • Baumgart
    Baumgart
Cristina Sciarra
Cristina is a writer, cook, and day job real estate developer. She studied literature, holds an MFA in Fiction Writing, and completed the Basic Cuisine course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She lives in Jersey City with her husband--a Frenchman she met in Spain--and their sweet black cat, Minou. Follow her writings, recipes, publications and photography at theroamingkitchen.com.

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9 Reviews

Baumgart
Baumgart December 5, 2020
We made this tonight and it was delicious - I chopped the walnuts in a cuisart - and served with a browned butter sauce with whole sage leaves (super simple)

 
Ms. T.
Ms. T. January 22, 2012
Congrats on the CP, these sound fantastic! And I love the idea of putting them in a soup. Adding this recipe to my list!
 
Cristina S.
Cristina S. January 22, 2012
Awesome, I hope you enjoy!
 
deanna1001
deanna1001 January 14, 2012
I'm looking forward to this! I'm going to freeze some of them...would you suggest cooking then freezing, or forming the meatballs and freezing raw?
 
Cristina S.
Cristina S. January 14, 2012
I did the same thing. I cooked them all, and then froze them in small batches. I think it's easier to freeze them cooked.
 
Cristina S.
Cristina S. January 19, 2012
Thank you for your kind review, deanna1001! :)
 
deanna1001
deanna1001 January 19, 2012
You're very welcome. They are delish!
 
deanna1001
deanna1001 January 13, 2012
Uh...where's the pork? ;-)
 
Cristina S.
Cristina S. January 13, 2012
Oh my goodness! It appears only half of my ingredient list loaded, and only half of the procedure! I have corrected it now. I'm sorry, these pork meatballs definitely contain pork!