Hello, darlings! I am so excited to be sharing my mom's beloved meatball recipe today! This woman makes a pot of meatball pasta sauce like you wouldn't believe... and luckily, she's passed down that skill to me. So I, in turn, am passing the knowledge down to you! But first, I want to address a couple of Italian myths... like the belief that spaghetti and meatballs go together. Nope. Absolutely not. Have you ever noticed how the spaghetti are too thin and flimsy to really complement the meatballs and savory sauce? Well, there's a reason for that. And the reason is that meatballs are meant to go with chunky pasta, or at the very least, a wide noodle like fettuccine {like I used today}.
The other is that the meatballs should be cooked separately and just topped with sauce when served with the pasta. What's the point? We traditionally make meatballs and throw them raw into the boiling hot sauce. Trust me when I say that tomato sauce is plenty hot to cook those little suckers all the way through. And this way, you get a more flavorful meatball and a more flavorful sauce. Win-win! Oh, and you end up only using one pot for the whole ordeal. So that's another win. 😉
That being said, my mom occasionally uses this recipe, sans tomato sauce, and just pan-fries the meatballs to serve as entrees. Add some mashed potatoes, some steamed broccoli, and you have a perfect weeknight meal. But I digress. Let's go back to pasta! Like I said, I chose to use fettuccine because they're the perfect compromise between spaghetti and chunky pasta. If you're not feeling noodles, then penne and rigatoni are also a perfect match to the meatballs! This recipe is for sugo alle polpette, which really just means "meatball pasta sauce" so you can pair it with whatever you desire. And well, if your heart is really, really set on spaghetti... I guess I will just turn a blind eye. 😉 Happy cooking!
sugo alle polpette {pasta & meatballs}
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork {not sausage}
- 2-3 eggs
- 3 slices white bread
- ¼ cup half & half
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dry parsley
- salt & pepper as needed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4- 15 oz cans tomato sauce
- ½ white onion finely chopped
- pasta to serve
Instructions
- First, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and ground pork.
- In a small bowl, tear up the sliced white bread into small chunks, and pour just enough half&half to soak them {might be less than the whole ¼ cup}. Add this to the meat.
- Start mixing everything together, then add 2 of the eggs. If the mixture is still too dry, add the 3rd egg.
- Stir in the grated parmesan, mozzarella, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and salt & pepper. Place mixture in the fridge while you start the sauce.
- In a large nonstick pot, heat the olive oil and onion over medium-high heat. Once the onion starts to fizzle, throw in some salt and pepper, and allow it to cook until softened and translucent.
- Add in the tomato sauce, cover, and let the mixture come to a low boil.
- Take the meat mixture out of the fridge, and make meatballs about the size of a walnut. Once you have formed all the meatballs, add them to the hot sauce a few at a time, making sure to not place them on top of each other.
- Once all the meatballs have been added, cover the pot once more, and let it cook on medium-high for 20-30 minutes. After this, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let it cook for 1-2 hours {longer if possible}.
- When ready to serve, cook pasta according to package directions, top with meatballs and sauce, and serve with more grated parmesan on top.
Leave a Reply