26 January 2012
The Best Meatballs in Easy Tomato-Cream Sauce
Despite my ambiguous feelings toward Giada, her meatballs are really something special. I first discovered them when I made Giada’s Italian Wedding Soup. I had some leftover meatball meat (is that the right word?), so I decided to cook some up and eat them on their own. Best idea ever. They were delicious and totally carried themselves without the rest of the soup. (Side note: I’m SO behind on Season of Soup! I’m going to try to catch up, but I don’t know if I can. I think I finally got sick of soup! I can’t believe I’m saying that!).
I tweaked Giada’s recipe slightly, but it’s pretty close to the original. Here’s my version:
You’ll need (makes 10-12 large meatballs):
For the meatballs:
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1 cup fresh Italian parsley
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 cup almond meal (you could also use bread crumbs)
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 16 ounces ground beef (I used organic grass-fed beef from TJs)
- 16 ounces ground pork (I used organic local stuff ground pork from Door to Door)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (with basil if possible)
- Italian seasoning to taste (basil, oregano, etc.)
- 1/2 cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
Make it:
Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix well with your hands. Really get in there and mush stuff around!
Form large (palm-sized) balls and roll them in your hands before putting them aside on a plate or cutting board.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the balls (make sure to leave a little space between them for turning).
You’ll need to cook them on each side for about 5-7 minutes. When one side gets brown, turn it. The balls should cook for around 25-30 minutes total, but remember to keep turning so nothing burns!
While the meatballs are cooking, start the sauce. Pour tomatoes into a large sauce pan, add seasonings and bay leaf, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Once the meatballs are done, take the sauce off the heat and let it rest of a few minutes. Then, add cream and remove the bay leaf.
Ladle the sauce over your scrumptious meatballs and add Parmesan for garnish if you want. I served my balls with some roasted kale.
Ugh, so good. The tomato-cream sauce is so ridiculously easy, but it tastes genius. I think adding a bit of cream to a really acidic sauce is the way to go. A little goes a long way and it makes your sauce taste so much more rich and complex.
Giada, maybe you’re not so bad after all.
