Italian Meatballs

We like Toronto a lot and from time to time enjoy spending a weekend there. During the winter months, depending on weather, our travels are quite sporadic but during the rest of the year much more frequent. As summer is generally the best time for us, we did it also in August of this year. Few decades ago we lived in Toronto and it truly has a special place in our hearts. After all that is where we first met, where we got married, that is where our first child was born and the first place we called home.  Later on, our life journey took us elsewhere and we moved away. However, from time to time we miss Toronto’s hustle and bustle, vibrancy and energy of the city. That is the time to pay a visit.

The weekend was beautiful with warm, sunny weather, perfect for all day walk! The best part for me were early morning strolls down to old city center streets and having a breakfasts at one of many cafes and artisan bakeries.

In evenings we dined out at restaurants selected by their ratings on TripAdvisor. In our view that was the simplest way to increase our odds of running into something exceptional as opposed to just randomly walking in. On the first evening, we picked Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and had a dinner at a small restaurant called “Pazzia Osteria”.  In spirit with the cuisine, all three of us ordered pasta. Mine was with Italian sausage and it was absolutely phenomenal! The tomato sauce was deeply flavorful and smokiness and taste of sausage was to die for. As I stated earlier in some of my previous blog posts, I generally avoid restaurants since in my view majority places serve at best mediocre food and charge an arm and leg. However, from time to time luckily I run into a gem that raises my spirits and gives me satisfaction to know that there are still places out there that actually take a pride in their service and quality of food they make. And all of that at cost not breaking the bank, but rather at a reasonable price. “Pazzia Osteria” is definitely one of those places.

After finishing my pasta I followed up and cleaned up the plates of my wife and daughter. The portions were fair size so they could not finish it all; I had no issue helping them. What really got my attention were the meatballs my daughter got with her pasta. They were so tender and delicate, full of flavor. Oh my gosh, were they ever good!

As usual right after this wonderful experience my “can do” gene kicked in and I tasked myself to make the same quality meatballs at home, and I did. The following recipe yields 20-24 mouthwatering, amazingly flavorful meat balls. I made them several times and my daughter confirmed that they are as good as those we had in the restaurant. I fully agree with her and this recipe is my “go to” recipe for Italian meatballs.

Italian meatballs take a bit of time to make, that is for sure. Two days to be exact, but don’t let that deter you from making this outstanding dish. Good food and developing layers of flavor takes time, dedication, care and love for food. There are no shortcuts. The richness of flavor will make you smile.

Happy cooking and I hope you will give it a try!

The recipe has been adapted from chef Greg Easter and his book “Cooking in Russia“.

Print Recipe

Italian Meatballs

Deeply flavorful Italian meatballs!

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Italian

Keyword

Italian meat balls

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

10.5 hours

Passive Time

24 hours

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

Day 1 - Ingredients

• 680 g beef short ribs cubed and bones roasted
• 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp MSG optional
• 30 ml red wine dry
• 400 ml beef stock or water
• 1 Bay leaf
• 3 garlic cloves halved
• 400 g canned whole tomatoes including their tomato juices

Day 2 - Ingredients

• 90 g onion quatered
• 6 garlic cloves
• 6 basil leaves cut in tiny strips
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 90 g dried bread crumbs
• 60 ml 10% half & half cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for frying
• 500 g Italian tomato purée (passata)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• braised tomato mixture prepared on 1 Day

Spice Mix

• 1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Marjoram dried
• 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

Course Main Dish Cuisine Italian Keyword Italian meat balls Prep Time 1 hour Cook Time 10.5 hours Passive Time 24 hours Servings pieces Ingredients Day 1 - Ingredients 680 g beef short ribs cubed and bones roasted 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt 1 tsp MSG optional 30 ml red wine dry 400 ml beef stock or water 1 Bay leaf 3 garlic cloves halved 400 g canned whole tomatoes including their tomato juices Day 2 - Ingredients 90 g onion quatered 6 garlic cloves 6 basil leaves cut in tiny strips 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese freshly grated 90 g dried bread crumbs 60 ml 10% half & half cream 1 egg yolk 5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for frying 500 g Italian tomato purée (passata) 1 tbsp red wine vinegar braised tomato mixture prepared on 1 Day Spice Mix 1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1 tsp Mustard seeds 1 tsp Marjoram dried 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

Instructions

Day 1- Procedure

1. Remove bones from meat, trim and cube the meat.

   
2. Roast the beef bones for 45 minutes at 190ºC ( 375ºF ).
3. Using a coffee grinder grind spice mix and stir in coarse salt and MSG. Sprinkle spice mixture over the meat, add red wine and then toss and rub thoroughly. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

   
4. Into 3 liter braising pot add roasted bones, garlic, Bay leaf, beef stock (or water) and canned whole tomatoes in their own juices. Braise for next 6-8 hours at 120ºC ( 240ºF ).

   
5. Pass it through a sieve and store strained juices in a fridge, in airtight container.

   

Day 2 - Procedure

1. Grind marinated meat two times. The second grinding will insure more consistent fat distribution.

   
2. In a food processor add: onion, garlic, basil, Parmesan and bread crumbs. Once finely ground, transfer the mixture to a medium size mixing bowl. Add and stir in cream and egg yolk.

   
3. Add the ground meat, and using your hands, gently combine in a homogeneous mixture. Don't over mix it! You want everything fairly evenly mixed but avoid heavy squeezing and kneading since that will result with tough meat balls. Cover and let rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

   
4. Using the palms of your hands and a kitchen scale, make 20 - 25 meat balls. Lightly dust the balls with flour.

   
5. In a preheated 25 cm (10") non stick pan, add a generous amount of olive oil. You want to have enough to brown two batches of meatballs and also for the rest of the process. Heat setting is at the medium high or 7 out of 10.
6. Brown half of the meatballs in the first batch. As you place meatballs in the pan move it in a circular pattern causing balls to roll and coat with oil. To prevent burning, avoid the middle of the frying pan and keep meatballs around the edge, arranged in circle. Deep browning of the meatballs is a key to their good flavor. Take the meatballs out and put aside.

   
7. Pour in tomato sauce (passata) in a controlled, slow and continuous stream. Pour it in a circular motion trying to cover full surface. Do not stir!!! That is very important. If you stir it up you will cause tomato sauce to burn. Cover the pan with splatter guard and let it cook for 10 minutes.

   
8. After 10 minutes, stir the tomato sauce for the first time and reduce heat to a medium or 5 out of 10. Cook for 10 more minutes and stir occasionally. The goal is to concentrate the tomato sauce and achieve a paste consistency.

   
9. Add the braised tomato mixture from refrigerator and stir to combine. Taste it and add salt if required.
10. As the sauce is heated up add the meatballs to the pan, put the lid on and reduce heat to low or 1-1.5 out of 10. Let the balls simmer for 2 hours. Occasionally turn the balls in the sauce. They are very delicate, so be careful they don't fall apart. At the end sprinkle with red wine vinegar.

    
11. For the best flavor, let the balls rest in the sauce for a day or two. Serve warm, preheated in the oven at 180ºC (355ºF). Add a little water to prevent drying out. Add approximately 1 tbsp of water per meatball.

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