Mama Mia Meatballs!

Meatballs are a staple in our house.  When I’m not sure what to make and suggest meatballs the hubby’s eyes light up and a resounding yes is his reply.  He’s a fan of my meatball meals, regardless of what I’m meatballing up (is that a word?  I think not).  

I usually bake my meatballs in the oven, but since it was the weekend and we had nowhere to go (Covid-19), we decided to fire up the pizza oven and get that smoky flavor infused into the meal.  I used 100% veal and although the flavor was delicious, something was off.  Since veal is so tender the meatballs seemed a little too soft.  If I were to make this again, I’d add the same portion of ground pork and double up all the ingredients to make the meatballs more substantial in texture.    

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground veal

1 egg whisked

½ – ¾ cup of panko bread crumbs

¼ cup of Italian parsley chopped

½ onion grated (I like using the box grater to get the onions really broken down, but finely chopped works as well)

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

¼ cup of milk

½ teaspoon of salt and pepper

½ teaspoon of cinnamon (optional, but imparts a surprisingly nice flavor)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

If not using the pizza oven preheat the oven to 385 degrees.  In a bowl mix all the ingredients until they come together, don’t overmix as the mixture can get tough (nearly impossible with veal, but if you add pork don’t overmix)

Spread olive oil on a sheet pan and make sure the surface is coated.  Begin rolling your meatballs to about ¾” to 1” inch in diameter.  Place on pan with a bit of space between the meatballs so you can easily flip them.  Place in oven and set timer for 20 minutes.  At 20-minute mark flip and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes.  I usually test them at 5 minutes to see if they are done and if not continue cooking an additional 5 minutes. 

You can serve with pasta, rice, zucchini pasta, or even bread.  I added tomato sauce on the side for dipping purposes, but really the meatballs are delicious on their own.

Wine to pair? 

I went with a lighter style Sangiovese and it paired well with both the veal and the tomato sauce I served.  I think a Grenache or even Pinot Noir would go well, but I wanted to keep it Italian in style, even wine wise.  Cheers!