My daughter loves pasta. She can’t get enough of it and asks for pasta all the time. So, when pasta is on the dinner menu, one dish I love to make to go with it is my Italian style meatballs. They’re a bit more sophisticated than plain meatballs but still easy to make. I love to get my hands dirty, and sometimes I’ll have her help me form the meatballs.
| PREP TIME | COOKING TIME | TOTAL TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 20 minutes | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
YIELD: Approximately 16 meatballs, 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup breadcrumbs—fresh from 2 slices of bread (crust removed) cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 0.25 lb. chopped prosciutto (optional)
- Olive oil to cook
How to Make it
- Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and add the milk, letting the bread soak for 5 minutes
- Add the eggs, cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix well
- Next, add into the bowl the beef, pork, prosciutto, parsley, and basil and with your hands blend everything well together
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to portion and form, then you roll them into balls with your hands
- Heat a large skillet to medium high, add the olive oil and put the meatballs in—try to avoid crowding the pan
- Brown the meatballs on all sides, then cover the pan and continue cooking until the meatballs are cooked through
- I like to choose one meatball to test the readiness by cutting into that meatball to see how cooked it is. I take the meatballs out of the pan just before the pink starts to fade. Remember they will continue to cook after you take them out of the pan, so doing this helps to avoid over cooking them. If you want to be sure—test with a meat thermometer, it should read 160-165 °F.
- Enjoy with your sauce of choice and some al dente pasta
