WINE & FOOD AFFAIR RECIPES

Main Dish


Italian Meatballs & Sausage in a Savory Tomato Sauce

Baldassari Wine

9058 Windsor Road
Windsor, CA 95492
baldassariwines.com

Savory Tomato Sauce, with meatballs and sausage. Although slightly modified and altered over time, the core of this sauce has remained unchanged for close to 100 years, and was brought to us by my grandparents from Bologna, when the emigrated to the US in the early 20th century.

Meatballs

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound Ground Veal
  • 1 pound Ground Beef Chuck
  • 1 pound Ground Pork
  • 4 cups Fresh Breadcrumbs
  • 1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan
  • 1/3 cup Peccorino Romano
  • 1/2 cup Italian Parsley minced
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 medium Onion grated
  • 4 cloves Minced Garlic
  • 2-3 large Eggs beaten
  • 2/3 cup Whole Milk
  • 3-4 whole Anchovy Filets
Directions:
Mix the beef, veal and pork in a mixing bowl prior to adding the rest of the ingredients. 
Hydrate the fresh breadcrumbs with the whole milk, then combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well with your hands. Make sure all ingredients are incorporated and blended well. 
Season the mixture with ground fresh pepper to your taste (I prefer about a TB. of fresh ground pepper).
Next, form the mixture into small round balls (I prefer to use a medium ice cream scoop for consistency). 
You can then fry the meatballs in olive oil in a medium/large non stick skillet, or boil them in 2 quarts of simmering chicken stock until the meatballs float to the top (they're done when they float to the top). 
When done place the meatballs in simmering tomato sauce to finish cooking, and to impart their flavor to the simmering sauce.

Savory Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
  • 7-8 cans whole San Marzano plum tomatoes (crush in a bowl with your hands)
  • 2 large White or Yellow Onions
  • 3-4 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 cup Italian Parsley minced
  • 3 each Bay Leaves
  • 1-2 teaspoons Italian Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 teaspoon Aged Oregano
  • To Taste Salt & Pepper
  • 3-4 each Anchovy Fillets
  • 1 can Tomato Paste
Directions:
20-25 Meatballs
10-12 Pieces of Italian sausage cut in half, and either fried in olive oil or baked in the oven until almost done before adding to the sauce. 

Sauté the onions until translucent, add the garlic red pepper flakes, oregano, anchovy filets and tomato paste, and continue sautéing for a couple of minutes. 
Add the 7-8 cans of tomatoes that have been crushed by hand, and taste for seasoning. 
Season with salt and pepper to your taste, and let the sauce simmer over the lowest heat setting for 4-5 hours, stirring the sauce every 1/2 hour to prevent the sauce from sticking. Once all of the ingredients have been added, add the meatballs and sausage (any pre-made Italian sausage will do, I prefer New York style Italian Sausage), and let the meat impart their flavor to the sauce as it simmers. Be patient, a long, slow simmer is how you get a great sauce.