Author Notes
My husband used to take clients to a restaurant in Tacoma, WA called Bimbos. He would order their meatballs with basil pesto on the side and come home smelling of garlic and telling me how WONDERFUL Bimbo's balls were. He cried the day Bimbos was consumed by the cities new development and I have been trying to stop his tears ever since with various meatball attempts. This recipe comes the closest with large baked balls loaded with garlic and oozing with parmesan cheese. The pulverized seasoned croutons help hold these big balls together and incorporate easily into the mix. Send these balls over the top with a large side of fresh basil pesto. —DigNDine
Ingredients
- Bimbo Inspired Meatballs
-
3/4 pound
ground beef
-
3/4 pound
ground pork
-
1 cup
seasoned croutons pulverized
-
1 cup
Parmesan cheese finely grated
-
3
eggs
-
4
cloves of garlic minced
-
1 tablespoon
dried oregano
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1 teaspoon
black pepper
- Bimbo Basil Pesto
-
2 cups
packed fresh basil leaves, stems removed
-
1/4 cup
grated Parmesan cheese
-
1/2 cup
olive oil
-
3 tablespoons
pine nuts
-
3
garlic cloves
-
salt to taste
Directions
- Bimbo Inspired Meatballs
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix by hand ground beef and pork with eggs. Then add pulverized bread crumbs (I use my food processor), finely grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano and mix until combined.
-
Fetch a cookie sheet and place a rack on the cookie sheet. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out neatly formed meatballs (balls should be about 2" in diameter) and place them on the rack.
-
Place meatballs in an oven preheated to 375 degrees and bake for 12 minutes. Remove meatballs and rotate. Bake for another 10 minutes.
-
Serve hot with large quantities of basil pesto and plate with a sprig of fresh basil. I was going to say you can freeze left over meatballs in the freezer for up to a month but there won't be any left over! Makes about 20 meatballs.
- Bimbo Basil Pesto
-
Place basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse till mixed. With processor running, slowly drizzle olive oil into the mix until combined and of smooth consistency. Add salt to taste. Note, my husband likes his pesto with a lot of good olive oil - I usually add more than 1/2 cup! Serve with meatballs. I was going to say, store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week but there won't be any left over!
See what other Food52ers are saying.