Old-Fashioned Meatballs in Red Sauce               

 tags (edit): Gourmet Magazine Easy @Vogel @Try Soon! Sauces Main Dish  

 

Most of us have a tough time saying no to the lure of a meatball. Well, here is a batch of meatballs ready for the test. These particular ones, a mixture of beef and sausage, are laid out in a pan, then smothered in crushed tomatoes and seasoned with grated Romano cheese. Then they're baked in a hot oven, which accomplishes two things. First, it saves the step of browning them on top of the stove. And second, the sauce is automatically seasoned with the savory meatball juices and zesty, salty Romano. SEE NOTES.

Ingredients

1 pound ground round (15 percent fat)
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 each eggs lightly beaten
2 large garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes in heavy purée


 

Instructions
 Remove ground round and sausage from refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes before cooking, if possible. Place bread crumbs in large bowl and stir in 1/3 cup water. When absorbed, blend together with eggs, garlic, 1/4 cup grated Romano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Add meats to bread crumb mixture and combine well with fork. Form into 12 even balls. Lay in 1 layer in 8 x 14-inch baking dish so each is separated by about 1 inch.

Stir 1/4 cup water into crushed tomatoes and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Pour tomatoes over and around meatballs. Sprinkle tops with remaining 1 1/3 tablespoons grated Romano. Bake in center of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, about 18 minutes. Serve hot.


This recipe published with BigOven, and can be imported instantly by BigOven users viewing this page. Download your free trial at www.bigoven.com.


Yields: 12 Meatballs
     Gourmet magazine, October 2005, page 56

 notes:  * We substituted ground sirloin for the ground round in this recipe and added 1/8 teaspoon salt to the meat mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the sauce. We recommend baking the meatballs in a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish until they are just cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes.

* True, these are just basic meatballs with a very basic tomato sauce, but I loved them, and so did my dinner guests. Loved the ease, the texture and the flavor. If I just need a basic meatball, I will probably always make this recipe -- perhaps subsituting a marinara or something else for the sauce.

* First time making meatballs - such an easy recipe. I really thought the sauce was going to be bland, but it was very flavorful. Made few changes - used spicy turkey sausage for a little kick. Used dry italian bread crumbs and added a little oregano as well. Doubled the garlic and sprinkled a little more parm cheese on the meatballs and sauce before cooking. I doubled the recipe and got about 36 meatballs. I really like that you don't have to fry them first. Hope they freeze well! This recipe is a keeper.

Cuisine:   Italian

Main Ingredient: