Meatballs in sauce are very soft thanks to the presence of soaked bread in the recipe. Meatballs in sauce are a second course loved by both adults and children, very tasty in their sauce perfect for “sopping up.”
I believe this is one of the most classic recipes from our family traditions, and I think each of us has a memory of a nice plate of meatballs in sauce prepared by a grandmother or mother.
The base of meatballs in sauce is normally ground beef, but they can be made with any ground meat, even mixed for a richer flavor.
To get me to eat some sides, my mother would make them with boiled potatoes instead of bread soaked in water; some also soften it with milk, but these are all small variations to make them more suitable to your tastes.
Meatballs in sauce allow you to recycle leftover bread to avoid waste in the kitchen. Another tasty dish that allows you to recycle leftover bread is Pancotto, also based on bread, water, and tomato.
Often when I make meatballs in sauce, I prepare more sauce than necessary because it is a rich and full-flavored sauce that you can use as a base for other preparations, or simply use it to dress a nice plate of pasta.
Among the dishes that unite adults and children, I think of
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
You can use any ground meat you prefer to prepare the meatballs in sauce. I recommend beef, but you can also use a mixed ground meat of beef, veal, and pork.
- 14 oz ground beef
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1.75 oz stale bread
- to taste water (for soaking the bread)
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- to taste parsley
- 1 stalk celery
- 1/2 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cans tomato pulp (400 ml each)
- to taste coarse salt
- to taste chili pepper
Tools
To prepare the meatballs in sauce, a good pan or pot with high sides is enough, as they need to simmer.
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Pot
Preparation
The basic preparation for a good flavorful sauce is always a rich sauté of carrots, onions, and celery.
Peel and wash celery, onion, and carrot well, chop them into small pieces on a cutting board using a good kitchen knife with a smooth blade, and put them in the pot along with the oil and chili pepper. Sauté over medium heat until they become nice and crispy.
When the “aromatics” are nice and crispy, add the 100g of ground meat and cook it, trying to break it up well with the ladle.
This addition of ground meat to the sauce will ensure a nice thick and flavorful sauce. When the ground meat is cooked, add the two cans of tomato sauce, salt, and bring to a boil with the lid closed.
While the sauce is coming to a boil, prepare the meatball mixture. The first step is to put the bread in a large glass and completely cover it with water.
Put the rest of the ingredients in a large glass bowl, ground meat, egg, salt, pepper, Parmesan, chopped parsley, and finely chopped garlic.
Squeeze the bread well to remove as much water as possible and crumble it into the ingredients. Knead all the ingredients with your hands to make them as homogeneous as possible.
Start forming the meatballs with your hands and place them in the boiling sauce. With these quantities, I prepare about 12 meatballs.
Once all the meatballs are prepared, cover the sauce with the lid and cook for a few minutes over high heat, then begin to lower the flame until it is at its minimum. Leave to cook for at least an hour, keeping the lid slightly ajar; the sauce must be reduced before turning off.
You must cook the meatballs on a low flame, but the sauce must always be simmering, so if you see that with your low burner the sauce is still and not bubbling, slightly increase the flame.
NOTES
You can prepare the meatballs in sauce in advance and heat them when needed. As you can see from my photos, you can double or triple the doses provided for the sauce and prepare a larger amount of sauce compared to the meatballs to use in preparations like lasagna or store it in glass jars in the freezer.
Obviously, if you increase the sauce dose, the cooking time of the sauce must increase proportionally.
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How to prevent the meatballs from breaking?
If you use these doses and add the meatballs to the sauce when it boils, they will set quickly and you will avoid breaking them during cooking.
Can I stir the sauce during cooking?
You should occasionally stir the sauce, touching the bottom of the pot with the ladle to prevent it from sticking, and don’t worry, if you prepared the meatballs as described, they won’t break when stirring the sauce.
