Two Meatball Recipes For Your Sunday Special

Each Italian mamma will claim she has the best meatball recipes. Meatballs are not so popular in Italy as, say, pasta or pizza, but it’s still a typical Sunday dish. The beauty of this dish is that it can be as easy or as elaborated as you want. Although I’m not Italian (but I am a mamma), these below are two of my favorite Italian meatball recipes.

Ingredients for four people:

• 1 pork caul
• 100g / 3½ oz mortadella
• Soup vegetables such as carrots, celery or other root vegetables
• 1 onion
• 400g / 14 oz mixed minced meat (beef, veal, pork, chicken turkey)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 75g / 2½ oz grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 litre / 1¾ pints hot milk
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse the pork caul for 30 minutes, then drain. Finely dice the prosciutto and mortadella. Wash and roughly chop the soup vegetables. Peel and finely dice the onion.+
Combine the minced meat with the prosciutto, mortadella, egg, Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Form the meat into a loaf. Spread out the drained pork caul, place the meatloaf on it and wrap it with the caul.
Heat the clarified butter in an iron casserole and briefly brown the meatloaf on all sides. Remove it from the pot, the lightly brown the soup vegetables and onion in the pan drippings. Return the meatloaf to the pot and pour on 250ml / 9 fl oz of the hot milk. Mash the garlic clove with a knife and add it to the milk along with the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, on low heat for about 1 hour. Gradually add the remaining hot milk during that time.
Place the finished meatloaf on a heated. Season the meatball sauce with salt and pepper. Serve the meatloaf with the meatball sauce on the side.

This is another easy meatball recipe that I love. 

Ingredients for six people:

• 400 gr / 14 oz beef minced meat
• 200 gr / 7 oz pork minced meat
• 150 gr / 5 oz breadcrumbs
• 2 whole eggs
• 100 gr / 3½ oz grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp of parsley, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 10 gr ½ oz butter
• 100 gr / 3½ oz raisins and pines
• 500 gr / 20 oz fresh tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of tomato concentrate
• One small onion
• Olive oil
• Frying oil

Wet the breadcrumbs squeeze them and mix them in a bowl with the two types of mince meat, parsley and garlic. Add the eggs, a pinch of salt and pepper, butter, raisins, pines and Parmesan. Mix the ingredients together.
Take a tablespoon of minced meat and form a little bowl with the palm of your hands. Fry them in enough oil until they form a crunchy crust. Drip them and pat them dry and put them aside.
This Italian meatball recipe is not over yet, now it’s time for the meatball sauce.
Dip the tomatoes into boiling water for twenty seconds, take them out and peel them –They will be pretty hot so make sure you don’t burn your fingers. Chop them and put them aside. Chop the onion, sauté with three tablespoons of olive oil and add the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper, bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and let them go for 10 minutes. Serve hot.