Author Notes
This is a twist on the basic meatball recipe that appears in my book, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. They are great over spaghetti, of course, or as a party snack. I made 300 of them for Food 52's Piglet Awards! - Giulia Melucci —Giulia Melucci
Test Kitchen Notes
The meatballs were scrumptious — we LOVED the pine nuts and thought they were really clever, adding a lot of flavor and texture. I couldn't find dried currants, so I used 1/4 cup of golden raisins and chopped them so they were about the same size as the pine nuts — really good. The sauce took on the flavor of the meatballs and complimented them nicely. - drbabs —The Editors
Ingredients
- For meatballs
-
1 pound
chopped beef, preferably chuck (a fatty cut is better here)
-
2
eggs
-
3/4 cup
plain bread crumbs—if you have stale bread you want to run through the food processor, so much the better
-
1/4 cup
freshly grated parmigiano
-
1
garlic clove, minced
-
1/4 cup
milk
-
2 tablespoons
olive oil, plus 2 more tablespoons reserved or browning
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1/4 teaspoon
nutmeg
-
1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground pepper
-
1/2 cup
currants
-
1/2 cup
pine nuts, toasted
-
1/2 cup
Italian parley, chopped
- For sauce
-
2 tablespoons
olive oil
-
28 ounces
can chopped or whole (the better choice) tomatoes
-
1 tablespoon
tomato paste
-
1/4 cup
red wine
-
2 teaspoons
sugar
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1/4 cup
basil leaves, packed
Directions
-
Throw all the meatball ingredients into a large bowl and blend well with your hands. Shape into balls (you choose the size).
-
In a large skillet, best the reserves 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the meatballs until they are browned on all sides. Remove to a plate lined with two paper towels.
-
For the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, then add the tomatoes (and their juices, breaking them up with your hands, if using whole, which you really should be), and tomato paste. Add wine, sugar, salt, and meatballs. Bring to a simmer, then lower hear to medium-low; cook, stirring often, for 40 minutes. Serve garnished with basil leaves.
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