Pasta and Meatballs
Author: 
Recipe type: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 10 cloves of garlic
  • 3 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ cup basil leaves, packed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 shallots
  • ½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 slices day old white bread, torn into pieces
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon oregano, dried
  • ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated plus more for serving
  • 800 grams ground beef, lean
  • 400 grams sausage meat, mild Italian is recommended
  • Vegetable oil for frying of meatballs
Instructions
  1. ***For the sauce
  2. In a large pot over medium/low heat, add oil and 8 cloves of garlic (make sure to smash them with your knife) and let the garlic infuse the oil for about 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, dump the tomatoes in a large bowl and use your hands to break them up.
  4. Using a slotted spoon remove the garlic from the oil and add the tomatoes, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes. Add the basil and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes stirring occasionally until the sauce reaches a nice consistency.
  5. ***For the meatballs
  6. In a bowl, soak the bread with milk for about 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess milk and place bread in a large bowl.
  7. In a food processor, finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, shallots, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper. Add the eggs, oregano and Parmesan and pulse a couple of times till incorporated.
  8. Dump the food processor contents in the large bowl with the bread and add the meats. Mix with your hands till incorporated and start forming into balls (I like making my meatballs on the smaller side but this is just preference).
  9. In a deep pan, heat about ½ inch of oil and fry meatballs in batches till browned on all sides. Place cooked meatballs on a dish covered with paper towels. When done cooking all the meatballs, add them to the sauce and let simmer for a final 30 minutes. Serve over your favourite pasta!
Recipe by Swine + Wine at https://www.swineandwine.ca/i-want-pasta-and-meatballs-mommy/