I grew up on meatballs and chicken parmesan. On Saturdays, my Mom would fill a pot with tomatoes and assorted spices, and then go to work on the meatballs. I would sit at the table and watch her move the meat around with her hands. After the balls were rolled out, they would simmer for hours in the sauce, building flavor. Recently, I was craving some tasty meatballs, so I whipped up my Mom's recipe and made a meatball sandwich. It was comforting and delicious.
My Mom's Meatballs
Makes 10-12 meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (85/15)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cups Italian bread crumbs
- 1 tbs. milk
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients then gently work the dry ingredients into the ground beef. Make sure not to over work the meat or your meatballs will become heavy and dense. Beat egg and milk together and add them to meat. If meatballs are not wet enough to stick hold together, add more milk to the mixture. Roll meat into 10 to 12 medium size balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Add meatballs to marinara sauce and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
One of the things I noticed about my Mom's meatballs is that she doesn't use ground pork. Do you use ground pork in your recipe?
