The Sicilian pasta with meatballs in broth is a warm, enveloping, tasty, and nutritious first course with a second that takes me back in time and reminds me of my childhood. It’s one of my favorite dishes; my grandma Pina made it often and it was never missing during Sunday family lunches. I would always go around the table looking for the mini meatballs and “forced” everyone to give me a couple of theirs, I loved them! So here’s grandma’s recipe for preparing perfect pasta with meatballs in broth, with homemade broth and the trick to make it even tastier (and to avoid wasting anything), using the blended vegetables from the broth to make the pasta even more creamy, colorful, and flavorful. The minced meatballs are super soft and tender but don’t fall apart during cooking, try it like this too, it will be loved by both adults and children!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4-6 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- 3 cups small pasta
- 10.5 oz ground veal
- 2.5 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- 1.75 oz breadcrumbs
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 2 carrots
- 2 eggs
- 6.3 cups water
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 sprig parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste nutmeg
Steps
The pasta with meatballs in broth is very simple and quick to prepare. First, take care of the broth: pour the water into a pot, add the onions, celery, carrots, cleaned and chopped tomatoes, a bit of salt, and bring to a boil. Let the broth cook for 25-30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the mini meatballs: in a bowl, put the minced meat, eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, chopped garlic and parsley, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and mix all the ingredients well. Then form small meatballs, they should be just a bit larger than a hazelnut.
After the broth cooking time has passed, remove the vegetables and set them aside. Cook the meatballs in the broth for 15 minutes.
At this point, add the pasta and follow the cooking time indicated on the package. If necessary, adjust the salt and check that the broth is not too little; if it is, add a bit more water.
The pasta with meatballs in broth is ready to be plated and enjoyed. To make it even better, creamy, and flavorful, blend the vegetables used to make the broth and add a few tablespoons of purée to the pasta, you’ll taste how delicious it is!
Notes:
If there’s leftover pasta with meatballs in broth, store it in the fridge; it’s good even the next day. If there are leftover meatballs or some broth, keep them in the fridge and use them to cook the pasta the next day; add more water and adjust salt if necessary. You can also make the meatballs with mixed minced meat, half veal and half pork (or even chicken and turkey if you prefer). You can use any pasta you like, but it’s better to use small pasta (orzo, stars, small squares, tubes) or broken pasta, like spaghetti, thin spaghetti, or angel hair. For a more indulgent version, you can also cook tortellini.
Want to make classic and super soft meatballs? Find my recipe HERE
More meatball recipes HERE
