Veal and Beef Meatballs
When my son Logan is getting ready to go back to school I always ask him "What can I make for you to take back?" The usual response is meatballs. In single serve freezer containers I send him back with a bunch of meals. All Logan needs to do is defrost them and make a batch of pasta to go with it.
This is a good go to meal for me at home too. I like to make a batch in the beginning of the week, eat it that day and then you still have a few meals to eat throughout the week.
The sauce is a simple one pot tomato sauce. In both the meatballs and the sauce the herbs are a key piece to the fresh flavors. I tend to keep a lot of fresh herbs in my fridge, but they can all be swapped out for dried or frozen herbs. In this recipe, I used all three, fresh, dried and frozen herbs.
Meatball Ingredients:
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground beef
1 extra large egg
4 cloves garlic grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme stripped
1 sprig fresh rosemary stripped and chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1 basil cube frozen equal to 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper
Sauce Ingredients:
I 28 oz can crushed peeled plum tomatoes
1 28 oz can Peeled whole tomatoes
Olive oil
1 medium onion chopped 1/4 cubes about 1 cup
4 cloves garlic grated or chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 sprig rosemary stripped and chopped
3 sprigs thyme stripped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Dried Italian herbs
Salt & pepper
Making the Meatballs:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl mix together the egg, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, Italian herbs and basil. Add salt and pepper.
In a large bowl with the ground veal and beef, add the egg and herb mixture. Then mix in the panko crumbs.
Lightly grease two baking sheets. I like to use a 1 1/2" melon baller , this will insure the meatballs cook evenly and look uniform. I drop them right on the greased baking sheet, without rounding them off in my palms, I would rather less work and mess, and I'll take the flat bottom. This batch makes about 50 meatballs. Bake for 20 minutes. If they are not fully cooked it is ok they will have more cooking time when they hit the sauce.
Making the Sauce:
In a large covered pot over medium heat, drizzle the bottom of the pan with olive oil, and add the chopped onion. Saute the onions till they start to get limp and translucent. Add the garlic, then add the parsley, rosemary,thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Then add the can of crushed tomatoes, while you are adding the whole tomatoes either break them up with a wooden spoon or gently crush them in your hand. It should still be chunky. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Lower the heat to low and add the meatballs to the sauce. simmer covered for 30 minutes.
