Author Notes
This is a modification of my Aunt Edith's meatball recipe. I have updated it by mixing beef, pork and veal and changing the ratio of ingredients. My father's family was from Calabria, Italy and my Aunt Edith owned a pizza parlor in East Palestine, Ohio —Torrbrod
Ingredients
- The Basic Mix
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1 pound
85% lean, grass fed ground beef
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1/2 pound
ground pork (preferrably pasture raised)
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1/2 pound
ground veal (preferrably pasture raised). Can substitute dark turkey meat, ground.
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2
large eggs
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dried bread crumbs, slightly less that the same volume of meat
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1/2 cup
grated reggiano parmigiano cheese, best quality
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5-6 grates of fresh nutmeg
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A good glug of best quality olive oil
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1-1/12 teaspoons
kosher salt
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several grinds of black pepper
- For the Sofrito
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1
medium carrot
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1
medium stalk celery
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1
small onion
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1 handful
Italian parsley
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1 handful
fresh basil
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2-3
medium garlic cloves
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roughly chop the vegetables. Put all of the sofrito ingredients into the food processor and process until you have a paste-like consistency.
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Put the sofrito onto a large bowl. Add the eggs, nutmeg, salt, pepper, olive oil, cheese and bread crumbs. Combine until well mixed. Add the meats and mix by hand until well combined. Taste a pea sized portion and correct the salt if necessary.
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I roll the mix by hand into about 2 inch balls. But whatever size pleases you is fine. You can use an ice cream scoop to create even sized portions but with a little practice it is easy to create even sized balls by hand, the old fashioned way!
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Place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes.
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I generally make these meatballs to put into a marinara sauce for spaghetti and meatballs. If this is your plan, put the baked meatballs into your sauce and simmer until you're ready to eat!
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