Growing up, our Friday night dinners consisted of fish sticks or spaghetti with marinara sauce. My favorite was the spaghetti.. To honor my great love of spaghetti with marinara sauce, my parents would take us to celebrate my birthday at this quaint Italian restaurant in Sparta, New Jersey. One year I decided to try something other than spaghetti with marinara sauce. I ordered spaghetti with meatballs cooked in a luscious garlicky tomato sauce. The meatballs were tender, perfectly seasoned and bursting with flavors from the sauce. I remember leaving the restaurant feeling very grownup and happy. Since then I have enjoyed many delicious meatballs but have not been able to find one delectable enough to match the memory of my first meatball. Well that was until now: Anna and Frankie's Meatballs from Rao's are as scrumptious as the one I had for my birthday that night. They are easy to make, perfectly seasoned and deliciously simmered in marinara sauce. I now have a meatball recipe to remind me of that magical night of celebrating with my family and trying a new dish.
Anna and Frankie's Meatballs
Anna and Frankie's Meatballs
adapted from
Rao's Cookbook
Frank Pellegrino
makes 28
Ingredients
1 pound ground lean beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/2 garlic clove, peeled and minced, optional
2 cups Bread Crumbs
2 cups lukewarm water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fine-quality olive oil
Directions
1. Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients together. Blend Bread Crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.
2. Shape meat mixture into balls (2 1/2 40 3-inch balls)
3. Heat oil in a large saute pan. When oil is hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches.When bottom half of the meatballs is very brown and slightly crisp turn and cook top half. Removed from heat and drain on paper towels.
4. Lower cooked meatballs into simmering Marinara Sauce or Sunday Gravy and cook for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.
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Ingredients
1 pound ground lean beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/2 garlic clove, peeled and minced, optional
2 cups Bread Crumbs
2 cups lukewarm water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fine-quality olive oil
Directions
1. Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients together. Blend Bread Crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.
2. Shape meat mixture into balls (2 1/2 40 3-inch balls)
3. Heat oil in a large saute pan. When oil is hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches.When bottom half of the meatballs is very brown and slightly crisp turn and cook top half. Removed from heat and drain on paper towels.
4. Lower cooked meatballs into simmering Marinara Sauce or Sunday Gravy and cook for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.
follow Anne on twitter and Instagram
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