Fall Recipe

It’s Day 13 of the #Blogtober14 Challenge with The Daily Tay and Helene in Between!  Rasa here with today’s post, my “Fall Recipe”  

For my fall recipe, I’m posting my Dad’s meatball recipe.   It’s not a traditional “fall” recipe (no pumpkin or turkey in these), but they are total comfort food and I always associate that with Fall.  I’ve also been making them for Mary’s Dad and just made them for his Birthday celebration yesterday, so it seems like the perfect recipe to share.

“Daddy” Style Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

 For the Sauce:

– 1/2 cup of olive oil

– 3 x 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes

– 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

Add the olive oil to a large pot and set over medium heat.  Add the garlic and saute until it just starts to turn golden.  Add all of the tomatoes (liquid too) and blend with hand mixer until the sauce is smooth.  You can also blitz the tomatoes in a blender beforehand, if you don’t have a hand mixed (I won’t tell my Dad!)

Add 1 tablespoon of salt and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

While that’s simmering, start on the meatballs.  In a large bowl, add:

– 1 ½ lbs ground meat (I use a combination of beef, pork and veal)

– 1 tbsp kosher salt

– 1 clove garlic, finely minced

– 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

– 1 cup grated Parmasean cheese

– 1 ½ cups of breadcrumbs

– 1 ½ cups water

– 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Unclump the meat and mix it together with the rest of ingredients.  Shape into balls and place on a rimmed baking sheets, either lined with parchment paper, tinfoil or sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray.  I like parchment paper for easier cleanup.

Bake your balls at 375 for 30 min until golden, turning them once about halfway through.

When you sauce is almost done it’s hour of simmering, add ¼ cup of fresh basil (chopped), about 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of dried oregano.  Taste and add more salt and seasonings if you like.

Once the meatballs have finished baking for half an hour, simmer them in the sauce for 20 minutes and you’re ready to serve!

These are great with spaghetti, you can throw some onto a bun and melt mozzarella on top for a great sandwich, you can even put them on pizza or in a panzarotti.  Honestly, you can even eat them straight…not that I do that.