Classic Italian meatballs are made with ground beef or veal and are either fried or baked. The Italian word for meatballs is polpette. In most regions of Italy polpette are eaten as-is, without any sauce or topping. Americans often serve Italian meatballs with spaghetti; however, this dish is nonexistent in Italy. In the southern part of the country there is a variation of meatballs in tomato sauce served as a main course, but it is never served with pasta. Americans also enjoy Italian meatballs in sandwiches and over rice, usually with a red sauce.
Recipe Servings: 8
Prep Time
30 minutes
+ 1 hour resting
+ 1 hour resting
Cook Time
35 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 5 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray, as needed
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup milk (can substitute water or beef broth)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 eggs
- ¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
- Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.
- Pour the olive oil into a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the onions to the hot oil and cook for about 20 minutes or until translucent. Remove onions from the heat.
- Mix the beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir in the onions, breadcrumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese until combined.
- Cover the meat mixture with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Form the meat mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs for 15–20 minutes or until browned and cooked though.
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