Recipe from Andrew Feinberg
Adapted by Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 2 hours 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(129)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Featured in: THE CHEF: ANDREW FEINBERG; These Little Meatballs Stayed Home
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1Spanish onion, diced
- 6garlic cloves, minced
- 228-ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes
- ¾teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
- ½small baguette (6 ounces), crust trimmed
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½large Spanish onion, diced
- 8garlic cloves, minced
- 2pounds ground lamb
- 1pound ground pork
- 1½cups grated pecorino Romano cheese, more for serving
- 1cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¾cup chopped fresh mint
- 1½teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1½teaspoons kosher or coarse sea salt
- ¾teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1cup dry red wine
- ½baguette, sliced on a bias
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the Sauce
For the Meatballs
For the Crostini
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1278 calories; 92 grams fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 46 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 58 grams protein; 1650 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Prepare sauce: In an ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes and salt and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer sauce, occasionally mashing tomatoes against side of pot with a wooden spoon, until they break down and sauce thickens, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Step
2
Pass sauce through coarsest disc of a food mill, or purée it until smooth in a food processor or blender. Return sauce to pot.
Step
3
Prepare meatballs: Soak baguette in enough water to cover until soft and falling apart. Squeeze dry. In a very large skillet over medium heat, warm 3 tablespoons oil. Add onions and sauté until translucent but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, stir well, and turn off heat. Let cool.
Step
4
Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine lamb, pork, cheese, parsley, mint, pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, onion mixture and bread. Using your hands, mix well. Form mixture into 1¾-inch meatballs.
Step
5
Add remaining oil to pan, and warm it over medium-high heat. Fry meatballs, turning on all sides, until well browned. Transfer meatballs to platters lined with paper towels.
Step
6
Add wine to skillet, and let it simmer for a few minutes, scraping up any browned bits stuck to bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Pour wine into tomato sauce and add meatballs. Cover pot and bake for 30 minutes.
See AlsoBeef Bulgogi Bowls RecipeStep
7
Just before serving, heat broiler. Brush baguette slices with olive oil. Toast them under broiler until golden around edges, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve meatballs with sauce, crostini and extra cheese.
Ratings
5
out of 5
129
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
dimmerswitch
Reliable, versatile, easy. Made a couple of times, cutting in half each time so 1.5 lb total meat & adjusting all accordingly. We enjoy both lamb & pork but for these meatballs we prefer one or the other used, not combined. Either is very good. These reheat well if making ahead. Freeze well too. I like to add a beaten egg to the mixture. Good with crostini specified and also on polenta. For another great meatball recipe see David Tanis' North African Meatballs on this site.
tal
Made this recipe last night for the first time. I cut the recipe in half because 3 lbs of meat would make far more meatballs than would fit in my dutch oven. One half of the recipe, served over pasta, fed four people. I followed the recipe closely with the exception of using panko bread crumbs moistened with milk (that is what I had on-hand). Overall I liked the taste, the mint/parsley combination was delicious. My meatballs were too crumbly however. Next time I will add egg to the mixture.
Kamil
Since this is a Greek style recipe (mint) there is nothing better than adding yogurt with salt and garlic as extra sauce. Wonderful.I wouldn’t add eggs as other suggest it makes the meatballs soft and ‘bloated’.
Rose
Add an egg or two
Margot
Definitely add an egg. Otherwise the meatballs don't hold together.
mvtorres17
Tastes fine not blending tomato sauce
dimmerswitch
Reliable, versatile, easy. Made a couple of times, cutting in half each time so 1.5 lb total meat & adjusting all accordingly. We enjoy both lamb & pork but for these meatballs we prefer one or the other used, not combined. Either is very good. These reheat well if making ahead. Freeze well too. I like to add a beaten egg to the mixture. Good with crostini specified and also on polenta. For another great meatball recipe see David Tanis' North African Meatballs on this site.
tal
Made this recipe last night for the first time. I cut the recipe in half because 3 lbs of meat would make far more meatballs than would fit in my dutch oven. One half of the recipe, served over pasta, fed four people. I followed the recipe closely with the exception of using panko bread crumbs moistened with milk (that is what I had on-hand). Overall I liked the taste, the mint/parsley combination was delicious. My meatballs were too crumbly however. Next time I will add egg to the mixture.
Glendale Tim
How about a meatloaf structure instead--start on high heat. And what would some anchovy in the sauce be like--should be OK given the tomato/garlic base.
Private notes are only visible to you.
