Meatballs

Italian meatballs, polpette, are often eaten with spaghetti as every American knows. Unfortunately, no one ever told the Italians this. In Italy meatballs are typically eaten as the main course or in soup. The last time I made meatballs was probably at least 10 years ago. I am sure I went to Betty Crocker I made the standard meatball made with hamburger and Worcestershire sauce. My recipe today is a concoction I made up as I went along, not authentic but a lot closer than the Betty Crocker version.

Meatballs

2 Italian sausages, about 1/2 pound, I used Turkey casings removed and sausage broken up

1/2 pound ground beef, I used a 93% fat free

1 tbs Italian herbs, I used Basil, Oregano, Marjoram and a pinch red pepper flakes

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated

2 tsp olive oil

Mix all of the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a medium size bowl. Be careful not to over mix this, you don't want tough meatballs. After it is thoroughly mixed together take a measuring spoon and measure out an equal amount of meat and roll into little balls. I used a 2 teaspoon measuring spoon. This made 27 meatballs, which was good as it gave me one to test for doneness and taste. Add the olive oil to a frying pan heated to medium. Then add the meatballs, browning them on all sides. This will only take a few minutes with meatballs this size. I then put them in my quick and easy tomato sauce and let them simmer until the pasta was finished cooking. I started the pasta water when I started making the meatballs.