Italian Meatballs
I remember getting so excited as a kid whenever my mom made meatballs. We ate pasta a lot (at least three times weekly) but meatballs were a special little treat. While most people Canadians/Americans eat their meatballs on top of a bowl of spaghetti, we ate ours as a side dish. First, we’d enjoy our bowl of pasta and then we would have our “secondi” AKA our second dish: meatballs with a green salad on the side.
Though my mom makes her meatballs differently than I do, the idea is pretty much the same! When it come to cooking with ground meat, we both prefer to mix two types of meat together. Pork is usually (always) one of the types of ground meat I prefer to use. It’s full of flavour but on it’s own is quite overwhelming. I tend to mix ground pork with either ground turkey or ground beef. If you’ve never mixed meats before, I’d encourage you to try. It’s a great way to boost the flavour and up the ante a little.
Meatballs typically have some sort of bread product in them. I prefer to use fresh breadcrumbs from sliced bread but unlike most recipes I have never soaked them in milk or water. Personally, I find that soaking them is an unnecessary extra step. The whole premise around soaking the breadcrumbs is to add some moisture to the mixture. At the same time, the purpose of adding breadcrumbs to the meatballs is to help bind the meat together. Everyone has their own way of doing it, but I find that using a fattier meat like pork in addition to a leaner meat (like turkey) adds enough moisture that I don’t see the point in soaking the breadcrumbs. Instead, I add a handful of fresh breadcrumbs to help bind everything together and it’s enough to do the job without drying anything out.
Fresh herbs are key in this recipe. Parsley is a classic addition to my families recipe and one that I will never steer away from. It adds freshness to a rather heavy meal and balances out the flavours perfectly. Though I’m a huge fan of dried oregano, substituting fresh parsley and basil with the dried variety is a no-go. It’s just not the same and won’t deliver the same results as fresh herbs. The smoked paprika is something I’ve added in to my family recipe because I’m a huge smoked paprika fan. It adds an obvious smokey depth of flavour to the meatballs without having to take any extra steps. If you don’t have smoked paprika in your pantry, you’ll likely notice that I use it a lot in my recipes and may want to add it to your shopping list.
Overall, you can’t go wrong with meatballs! It’s a great family meal and if you double the batch and freeze the other half, you’ll have a great go-to weeknight meal without having to put in much effort at all!
Italian Meatballs
Life From the Playpen | July 2020
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins |
Total Time: 50 mins
Servings: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
- 0.5 lb ground pork
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup grated parmegiano regiano
- 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- S&P
- tomato sauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix together and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Form and roll meat mixture into 1 1/2 inch rounds (about the same size as a golf ball or smaller).
- Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil. When skillet becomes hot, carefully add in meatballs in one single layer making sure not to over crowd the pan. Brown meatballs on either side but don't worry about cooking them all the way through yet.
- Once meatballs have finished browning, remove them and make your tomato sauce in the same skillet. Bring the sauce up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, add the meatballs back in and stir. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cook pasta of your choice and combine it with the sauce. Top each plate with additional sauce and meatballs or serve meatballs on the side. Garnish with parm and fresh basil and enjoy!
