Rod's classic meatballs
Rodney Bowers shares his famous meatball recipe just for us.
YIELDS
4
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2lb. ground beef
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to season
- 5-6 dashes hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons second press olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 16 oz can organic tomatoes
- 10 basil leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup flour (to dust meatballs with)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Combine ground beef, egg, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and half the cheese in a large bowl.
- Warm milk in a pot on low heat until it’s slightly warmer than the body temperature. Stir it into breadcrumbs, making a panade.
- Add panade to the meat mixture, combining well.
- Shape the mixture into half an inch to a three-quarter-inch ball. Place in fridge.
- In a deep pan or low pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add tomatoes and basil. Simmer for five minutes.
- Remove meatballs from the fridge and dust them with flour. Shake off any excess.
- In a separate pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and shallow fry meatballs until golden.
- Drain meatballs on paper towels. Add to sauce, cover pan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Serve on a stick or as a slider with pesto and cheese. Enjoy!
