Meatballs & tomato sauce – Who doesn’t love meatballs in luscious red sauce?

Meatballs & tomato sauce – Who doesn’t love meatballs in luscious red sauce? You can also do this in a crock pot, just put the onion & tomatoes on the bottom, and the meatballs on top. Cook 4-6 hours on low, in a crock w/at least 6 qt capacity.

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb mild Italian sausage

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

handful of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, stemmed & chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large sweet onion, finely diced, divided

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 TB olive oil

28 oz. whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano preferred), undrained

1/4 cup red wine (optional – sweet or dry is fine)

salt & pepper to taste

1 TB butter

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs with milk, set aside. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, salt, Parmesan cheese, and parsley, add beef & pork, then breadcrumb mixture, and work the ingredients together with your hands. Don’t over-do it. 

Form meatballs to the size you like (my batch made about 12 slightly larger than egg-sized balls). They will be a little loose, but don’t worry…they firm up in the sauce if you do it right.

In a skillet deep enough and wide enough to accommodate the meatballs with about 1″ above them, heat 1 TB olive oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. They don’t need to be cooked through. Remove meatballs and set aside. Searing is optional, but recommended.

In skillet, melt the butter, add the remaining diced onion, and cook the onion until slightly softened. Add the wine at this point, if including it. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Break the tomatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon, mashing them up into the sauce, until loosely crushed into small bits. The tomatoes will break down even more as the sauce cooks. Add the meatballs and cover, simmering for about 20-30 minutes, until no longer pink in the middle. 

Season to taste and serve hot with sauce. The meatballs and sauce freeze well, but will also keep in the fridge for 4-5 days in airtight containers.

1. Gianni Smitty | April 28th, 2016

   Jesus! Haven’t had meatballs in ages!

   Reply
2. Sy Bernot (Psybernaut) | April 28th, 2016

   Miniature meatloaf

   Reply
3. Bobbi Jo Woods | April 28th, 2016

   Oh, and I put some wine in the sauce. Forgot to add that

   Reply