Italian Meatball Recipe
ITALIAN MEATBALL RECIPE COLLECTION! From the jumbo Siciliano style with rich thick tomato sauce to the Calabrese meatball with raisins and pine nuts. I know, I know. Your Mama made the best tasting traditional Italian meatballs. But depending on where your Mama came from in Italy that meatball recipe maybe very different to what you would find in a typical American Italian restaurant.
There is a restaurant in Delray Beach, Florida called Tramonti's and they serve a traditional Calabrese meatball made with with sweet raisins a mixture of veal, pork and beef. Let me tell you by experience, they are delicious!
My Father's Polpette recipe was a little different. He made his meatballs in small bite sized balls. Being from the Northern region of Italy in Milano, he was taught to make them small and delicate.
Some meatballs are found in soups like the famous Italian wedding soup. Little tiny meatballs married with vegetables in a flavorful broth and ancini di pepe pasta shape.
Meatballs are not exclusive to Italy either.
- Keftedes - Greek meatballs made with garlic and mint.
- Swedish Meatballs - Usually served with a thick creamy sauce.
- Chinese Meatballs - Steamed into yummy dim sum bites.
- Albanian Meatballs - Made with Feta and deep fried.
- Latin Meatballs - Albondigas and usually served in a broth.
Although I love spaghetti with my Italian meatball recipe, and usually need a long nap after a plateful, spaghetti and meatballs are almost never seen in any Italian restaurant in Italy. Polpette, the Italian word for meatballs, are usually served with a gorgeous marinara sauce generously slathered over them, or maybe along side a scoop of fresh and creamy ricotta cheese and in some cases next to a crisp, green salad. Crispy Italian bread is always a must.
Like they do in another restaurant favorite of mine, Cafe Martorano's. Steve Martorano's Italian meatball recipe is world famous! He serves these baseball sized Italian meatballs along side a fresh romaine salad and olive oil dressing. MAN O MAN they are friggin good.
Italian Meatball Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground veal
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 1 large bunch of parsley
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Pinch of Garlic powder
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 loaf of day old Italian bread
- Enough vegetable oil to fill pan half way
Italian Meatball Recipe Preparation:
Take your day old Italian bread and tear it into large pieces. Ciabatta or a baguette is a good bread to use. Put the bread chunks into a large bowl and drizzle water over them until they are covered.Use your hands and pick up a handful of the bread and squeeze the excess water out of it. Mix it with the ground meats. This gives your Italian meatballs moisture and helps bind the meats.
Add the eggs, the parsley, the cheese, the breadcrumbs, the garlic powder, salt and mix together. Yes, still using your hands. Knead it all together until all the ingredients are blended well. You can just smell all the delicious flavor of the fresh meats and spices.
When you form your Italian meatballs make them big. Nice and BIG! A good size should be almost as big as a baseball. That's the Southern Italian way.
When you're ready to cook the meatballs, heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan. Don't use Olive oil, it burns too quickly. Fry the meatballs, turning on each side, until they're golden brown. You can do them in batches. You don't want to add all at once or they will stick and become a meaty mess. Remove from the oil and set on some paper towels to drain some of the oil.
The meatballs are not cooked all the way through at this point. They are just browned. The remainder of the cooking process is done in your favorite tomato sauce, marinara sauce recipe or Italian gravy, if that's what you call it. I use my traditional homemade Italian marinara sauce to cook my Italian meatball recipe. Allow the sauce, with the meatballs in it, to simmer until the meatballs are tender and fully cooked and the flavors are melded into a pot full of deliciousness. About an hour.
You can serve your Italian meatballs with a crisp green salad and a chunk of crusty bread or break all the rules and serve it with a homemade pasta as I did here! And then stuffa yo facea.
Vivere, Amare, Ridere e Mangiare Bene
Live, Love, Laugh and Eat Well!
Kira Volpi
MOZZARELLA CHEESE STUFFED MEATBALLS::Little cheesy meat bites that will make your mouth water.
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