Frankie’s Spuntino Meatballs
Spaghetti & Meatballs? Isn’t that for kids? Well, these aren’t. My sister’s husband AAden made these one time when I visiting them in New York and I couldn’t get over how delicious they were. And this recipe makes a boatload. The pine nuts and golden raisins really set it off and give it that je ne sais qua. I mean non so che succede!
Serving Size: 8-10 servings
Frankie's Spuntino Meatballs
My favorite meatballs ever.
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 50 Min
Ingredients
- 4 slices Italian bread (2 packed cups worth)
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus about 1 cup for serving
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 15 turns white pepper
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
- Tomato Sauce (see Frankies Spuntino Tomato Sauce recipe)
- Pasta, cooked in salt water
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325°F. Put the fresh bread in a bowl, cover it with water, and let it soak for a minute or so. Pour off the water and wring out the bread, then crumble and tear it into tiny pieces.
- Combine the bread with all the remaining ingredients except the tomato sauce in a medium mixing bowl, adding them in the order they are listed. Add the dried bread crumbs last to adjust for wetness: the mixture should be moist wet, not sloppy wet.
- Shape the meat mixture into handball-sized meatballs and space them evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm but still juicy and gently yielding when they're cooked through. (At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.)
- Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a saute pan large enough to accommodate the meatballs comfortably.
- Dump the meatballs into the pan of sauce and nudge the heat up ever so slightly. Simmer the meatballs for half an hour or so (this isn't one of those cases where longer is better) so they can soak up some sauce. Keep them there until it's time to eat.
- Serve the meatballs 2-3 to a person in a healthy helping of the red sauce, and hit everybody's portion- never the pan- with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese.
- Serve with Frankie’s Spuntino Tomato Sauce
Notes