Meatballs Pasta Food

MEATBALLS & PASTA

Steps:

• Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands, then tip into a large bowl.
• Pick and finely chop the rosemary, then add to the bowl with the mustard, minced meat and oregano.
• Crack the egg into the bowl, then add a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• With clean hands, scrunch and mix everything up well. Divide into 4 large and balls, then with wet hands divide each ball into 6 and roll into little meatballs - you should end up with 24.
• Place the meatballs onto a plate, drizzle with oil and jiggle about to coat, then cover and place in the fridge until needed - this will help to firm them up.
• Pick the basil leaves, keeping any smaller ones to one side for later. Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic, and trim and finely slice or crumble the chilli.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 7 minutes, or until softened and lightly golden.
• Add the garlic and chilli, and as soon as they start to get some colour add the large basil leaves.
• Tip in the the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, then add the balsamic vinegar, and season to taste. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer until needed, stirring regularly.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in another large frying pan over a medium heat, add the meatballs and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through, turning regularly To check if they're cooked, cut one opening - there should be no sign of pink.
• Once cooked, add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer while you cook the pasta.
• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan.
• Spoon half the tomato sauce over the pasta and toss together, adding a little splash of reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed
• Transfer to a large platter or divide between bowls, serving the remaining sauce and meatballs on top. Add a fine grating of Parmesan and scatter over the reserved basil, then tuck in.

REAL MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.
• Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.
• For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place a large pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it boils, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente.
• Mix beef and Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch medium-sized meatballs and place on nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet greased with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake balls 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer pink.
• Heat a deep skillet or medium pot over moderate heat. Add oil, crushed pepper, garlic and finely chopped onion. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onion bits are soft. Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Toss hot, drained pasta with a few ladles of the sauce and grated cheese. Turn meatballs in remaining sauce. Place pasta on dinner plates and top with meatballs and sauce and extra grated cheese. Serve with bread or garlic bread (and some good chianti!)

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE (PASTA AL FORNO)

Steps:

• Mix the grated onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, mince, breadcrumbs, milk, parmesan and parsley in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Mash the mixture together with your hands until combined. Mould the mix into small balls (about walnut-sized) with damp hands. There will be about 20 meatballs.
• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a deep frying pan and fry the meatballs for 6-8 mins until golden brown all over. Fry in batches if you need to - they don't need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside. Set aside on a plate.
• Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan and fry the chopped onion for 5 mins until softened. Add the remaining garlic, fry for another minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 mins until thickened and the tomatoes have broken down. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 5 mins less than the pack instructions state, in boiling salted water. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Stir the meatballs into the tomato sauce, adding a splash of water if too thick, and bring to a simmer. Drain the pasta and tip into an ovenproof dish. Pour over the sauce and meatballs and mix well. Stir in most of the mozzarella, then scatter the remaining over the top. Bake for 15-20 mins until the cheese is golden and bubbling, and the top is slightly crisp.

BAKED MEATBALL AND PASTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 Degrees and Grease a 3 Quart Casserole Dish.
• Melt the 1 TBSP Butter over medium heat and add the green bell pepper and onion. Cook until tender, approximately 5 minutes.
• Pour the jar of pasta sauce, the 2 cups of water, the package of frozen meatballs, the 2 1/2 cups of uncooked macaroni, 1 TSP Italian Seasoning directly into the casserole dish. Add the onion and green pepper. Stir all ingredients until combined.
• Bake covered for 45 minutes at 375 Degrees. Remove from oven after the 45 minutes is up and sprinkle the 2 Cups of Mozzarella and 1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese over the top. Place back in the oven uncovered and broil on high for around 3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
• This will make 4 Huge Servings or 6 Normal Servings. Freezes Well!
• Enjoy and always let you kitchen be your favorite restaurant!

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes less than the package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add marinara sauce and ricotta cheese; mix to combine. Add cooked pasta and mix to combine. Season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of sauce without meatballs. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Add another layer of sauce with meatballs on top and sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Add the rest of the sauce and meatball mixture on top, followed by remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake until cheese starts to turn golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS (PASTA SAUCE)

Steps:

• Mix the eggs and meat thoroughly to evenly distribute. Add the Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Mix thoroughly together by hand in order to combine all the ingredients.
• Then, start making your balls. Remember to compress the ball with your hands so they are very compact and will not crack. This is important because a ball with any cracks, or not compact enough, may break during the shallow frying stage.
• Now, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs over medium heat until golden brown. If the meatballs stick to the bottom of the pan, you may use a non-stick frying pan or you can fry the meatballs two at a time and keep rolling then in the hot oil.
• Place the meatballs on a new clean plate or a tray.
• Do not discard the olive oil but filter it into a small bowl in order to remove the residue created when frying the meatballs. Return filtered oil to the pan, heat, and add the chopped onion and garlic. Sweat off for about 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add 150 ml (5 fl oz or 5/8 cup) of hot water to the frying pan and cook for one minute, stirring. The gravy is done, so remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• In a large saucepan (a casserole would do the job), add the chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Then, add the gravy (tomato puree mixture) from the frying pan. Add the reserved browned meatballs. Cover with hot water. In my case, I used a very large saucepan so to cover the meatballs, I needed 2 ½ cups of water. A slightly smaller saucepan would probably require less water, I would say 1 2/3 cups.
• Add the chopped parsley, a pinch each of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, but carefully, with a wooden spoon, so as to not break the meatballs. Now, cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
• Cover (leaving one side of the lid slightly open) and simmer for about 2 ½ hours, stirring every 20 minutes to prevent sticking on bottom of the pan. Also, when doing that, turn the meatballs so the part that was face up will get the next 20 minutes cooking facing the bottom and keep going like that until the end. After 1 ½ hours simmering, check for seasoning; usually you need to add some salt.
• Serve the meatballs over al dente pasta and use the red sauce from the pan to coat the pasta. Finally, sprinkle with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (alternatively Parmesan cheese).