As promised, here is a recipe for spaghetti and real meat meatballs (as opposed to the vegetarian ones I posted last week) from my friend Laura. Obviously, I haven't tried these, but I completely trust Laura's judgment because she is a great cook, a discerning eater, and creater of the wonderful blog, cherrypatter. If you live in New York, find yourself up that way, or just love reading about the city, it is a great resource for places to eat, shop, or linger. The text and photos are all Laura's.
I am excited to guest host on Margy’s fantastic blog Hide The Cheese, and I’m thrilled that she took me up on my offer to contribute some occasional meat-focused recipes.
One of our family cold weather favorites is this recipe for super rich and tasty meatballs from the very famous, very exclusive restaurant called Rao’s located in Harlem that has been serving celebrities for ages. A good friend of ours who is a great cook tipped me on to the recipe and I have been using it ever since.
What is particularly great about this recipe, in addition to how it tastes, is the opportunity for smooshing, mashing, oozing and squeezing. Both of our kids love playing in the muck that becomes the meatballs. Just recently, Simon, who is just two, helped out by sticking his fingers into the tomatoes that needed to be strained and broken up. Now, his contribution was somewhat offset by the resulting mess of sauce down the table, the stool, his onesie and his legs but we had fun and quickly took a much needed bath.
Katie, although she won’t touch these things once cooked (she is not the most adventuresome eater), loves mixing together the meats, cheese, egg and water mixture into a truly irresistible ball of gloop. After the pile is thoroughly combined, she and I form the two-to-three inch meatballs, and then they are off to get fried, drained, and doused in some delicious tomato sauce.
The meatballs are wonderful that first day, but they are also incredibly great keepers. They keep in the fridge for about a week, and, as an added bonus, they freeze well too. The amount of marinara sauce below is just enough, though we like lots of extra sauce so I have been doubling the amount. I am sure there are plenty of tomato sauce recipes that would do the trick here, but I definitely would not modify the meatball recipe. Be sure to get the pork, beef and the veal – it is the trio that really makes them extra special. Also be sure to use pecorino romano (rather than just straight parmesan) and fresh bread crumbs (see my note below).
Adapted very slightly from Rao's Cookbook by Frank Pellegrino
30 minutes preparation time
1 hour cooking time
For the marinara sauce:
2 28-ounce cans imported Italian plum tomatoes with basil (preferably those labeled “san marzano”)
1/4 cup fine-quality olive oil
3 tablespoons minced onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
salt to taste
6 leaves fresh basil, torn
pinch dried oregano
pepper to taste
1 pound ground lean beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups fresh bread crumbs*
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup fine-quality olive oil