Pork& Pasta Meatballs in a Tomato Rose Sauce

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Recipes Make Magic

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Pork and Angelhair Pasta Meatballs in a Rose Tomato Sauce


I just recently developed this recipe, loosely based on what was a large, softball sized meatball dish that an Italian restaurant owner/chef and good friend of mine carried on his menu in the 1980's.


I will present this recipe solely to produce the meatballs and the rose sauce, leaving it up to anyone trying it to decide on what, if any, pasta they would accompany it with, or any other sides or other food items they wanted to serve as a complement to the meatballs & sauce.


This recipe should produce approx. 10 to 12 slightly larger than golfball-sized meatballs, and enough sauce for one 3-4 person meal dish. Suggest 2-3 meatballs per person to go with the sauce - freeze the residual number.


There are several key elements involved in making the meat balls looser, i.e. less compacted, than what is usually the case for most of us, as well supplying (imo) a juicier, more tender, and more flavorful meatball with a softer outside finish than would normally be developed upon cooking. I'll recap these elements at the end of the recipe.



The meatball ingredients:

- Approx. 1 lb. of pork sausage meat or ground pork. I used a small package of Johnsonville pure pork mild fresh italian sausage meat. It was a 375 gram pack, or just over 13 ounces of meat.


- A round quarter-sized quantity of dried angelhair pasta, broken in half, boiled to al dente condition - between 2 and 3 minutes only - and then cooled. Cut up into random sized pieces after cooling, about 1" long or a bit shorter.
Hope this amount/quantity is understood.


- 1/2 small/medium size grated onion - (not diced or finely chopped, but medium shred grated, not large coarse shred, if you can so do).


Shred the onion over a bowl containing only the amount of panko bread crumbs listed below - this to catch as much of the onion liquid which comes through grating the onion to mix into the crumbs, to go along with the milk or cream mentioned just below for moistening.


- 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs, to which you add a bit of milk or cream & mix in to moisten the crumbs.


- 1 or 2 garlic cloves skin on, slit in the middle with a paring knife & nuked for 30 sends in the microwave. Remove skin, finely dice the garlic, and add to the onion grated over top of the panko crumbs.


- Add 1 egg, lightly beaten, to the other ingredients, along with:


- The sausage meat, crumbled up into smallish size chunks;


- All the cooled and cut up angelhair pasta;


- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley;


- 1/4 cup or so of finely grated pecorino romano cheese;


- 1 tspn. each of dry basil & oregano;


- 1/2 tspn. finely blended fennel seeds ( hope you have a small blender type to do this, or crush up the fennel seeds as best you can - this adds taste & a bit of sweetness to the meatballs - please don't omit);


- A good dash of each of salt, pepper, brown sugar, and hot sauce of your choice;



Gently & lightly mix all these ingredients together with a fork to approach what seems to be a suitably well arranged mixture. Careful not to overwork the mixing process - use your fingers at the tail end to improve the mixing until you're more or less satisfied with it. The less mixing you can get away with, the better of course. I know I don't have to say this to you experienced meatballers- LOL


Now gather the mixture into individual palm-sized amounts, and gently/carefully shape each into a ball slightly larger around than a golf ball.


On a small cookie sheet or other oven-proof container, lay tinfoil over the bottom and a suitably sized grating over it - spray the grating with veg. oil - don't overlook this.


Then place meatballs onto the grating and lightly oil spray the meatballs too.


Bake in your 400 degree preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or slightly more, since oven heat settings can differentiate - (you know what I mean) - until the outside of the balls are just beginning to lightly brown up - this should have been enough time to cook the meatballs through.


Remove the meatballs from the grate right away, to cool and drip on paper towelling placed over a plate.



Here's a list of the combined items/prep work that will mesh together to assist in making the meatballs more loosely packed, juicier, more tender, and yes, even tastier:


- Minimal and gentle mixing and handling of the meatballs as they're made, put together, and baked.


- The addition of the cooked angelhair pasta throughout.


- Grating the onion & allowing it's juices to help moisten the panko crumbs. -


- Baking over an oiled grate, oiling the meatballs very lightly, and baking at high heat for a shorter time.


- Using pork sausage, or ground pork.


- Finely grated romano cheese, and the beaten egg.



The Tomato Rose Sauce:

Ingredients:

- 2 - 2.5 cups of canned crushed tomatos and their sauce ( or your choice of store bought, jarred basil & tomato sauce, or marinara sauce, or chunky tomato sauce - go with what you like best)


- 1/2 cup of your favorite white wine


- 1/3 cup whipping cream


-1/3 cup chicken stock


- 1/4 cup of grated onion ( as above)


- 1-2 finely chopped garlic cloves


- 1 heaping tspn. of tomato paste


- 1/4 cup of finely grated romano cheese


- 1 tspn. basil ( best to use fresh, finely chopped)


- 1/2 tspn. each of the fennel powder ( as above), ground nutmeg, and brown sugar

- several drops of your choice of hot sauce


- Salt & white pepper to taste


Olive oil for lightly sauteeing the onions & garlic


Tspn. of cornstarch mixed in cold water, to thicken the sauce a bit if need be

Preparation:


In a medium to large skillet, on low heat, lightly saute the grated onion for a couple of minutes, followed by the minced garlic just to soften it a bit. Turn the temp up to med.-high, add the white wine, and simmer well till it's reduced by around 1/3 or so.


Add the tomato paste, followed by the crushed tomato(s) sauce, the chicken stock, the S. & P., the herb/spice elements, the sugar & hot sauce drops.
Then add the grated romano cheese and the number of meatballs you intend to serve, and simmer on low for several minutes to heat the meatballs through while occasionally dousing them with sauce, before adding the fresh basil if using, and finally the whipping cream, mixed in well to reheat the sauce.


Add some water if the sauce seems too thick, or cornstarch in water to thicken if needed.


Final note on my recipes:


If any of you feel that my recipes are too lengthy, &/or that the directions, instructions, or explanations are overdone/overworked at times, please don't hesitate to say so, and I'll be happy to change the manner in which I present them.
Any suggestions are welcome
 
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Just a reminder for those of you that didn't see the photo of this finished product yet - I cooked it yesterday and you'll find the pic in post #8 of yesterday's - Sept. 16th - Today's Menu -What's for dinner tonite.


And I'll say it again, if you like meatballs - juicy, tender, and tasty - you must try these - they are truly outstanding - I'm having them again tomorrow nite, with the rose tomato sauce, and likely, some mini penne.
 
I love meatballs so I will try this recipe when I get back from FL. I haven't found a great recipe yet so I'm looking forward to a new one.

I agree that cooking meatballs in the oven is the way to go.
 
Had this dish for the 3rd time tonite - it was even better than I remembered it from the first couple of times.
The Rose sauce was as good as it gets - exquisite if I may use that term - and the meat balls - just as tender, juicy and tasty as I expected.
Had it with Rigatoni pasta & grated Romano cheese.
Please try this recipe.


A really good meal.
 
...Please try this recipe...
But it looks like so much work! I'll try it if you drop some off at our house. :mrgreen:

I'm lucky in that Himself thinks there is nothing better than his Mom's meat spaghetti sauce. I've tweaked it over the years, and it's still his favorite thing for smothering pasta. If I ever make meatballs in my life, it will be because I've been intrigued with stuffing a big meatball with a round mozzarella ball. Otherwise, meat sauce for us.

Also, I just can't do dairy in a red pasta sauce. I can shower so much shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano on top of my spaghetti that it looks like a blizzard hit, but I've tried and failed to like a sauce that adds any liquid dairy. I'm sure this all looks lovely, though.
 
I had this today and it is a lot of flavor in a small package.

Chef Paul's recipes do have a lot of steps but I'm retired and I have the time. Besides I find prep relaxing. It's a shame that so many folks don't have the time to cook from scratch.

It was the flavor of the ground fennel and the touch of heat from the hot sauce that I first fell in love with. As I kept eating I realized how beautifully all the flavors melded together to make a beautiful whole.
 
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I had this today and it is a lot of flavor in a small package.

Chef Paul's recipes do have a lot of steps but I'm retired and I have the time. Besides I find prep relaxing. It's a shame that so many folks don't have the time to cook from scratch.

It was the flavor of the ground fennel and the touch of heat from the hot sauce that I first fell in love with. As I kept eating I realized how beautifully all the flavors melded together to make a beautiful whole.


Many thanks for the gratifying and encouraging words, Liz !
Glad you liked it as much as I do.

Perhaps this will tempt others to try it, and hopefully they too will find the dish as flavorful as we do.
 
Everyone would make your recipes if they had a sous chef on hand. People are do busy they don't have the time to invest in an exquisite meal.
 
But it looks like so much work! I'll try it if you drop some off at our house. :mrgreen:

I'm lucky in that Himself thinks there is nothing better than his Mom's meat spaghetti sauce. I've tweaked it over the years, and it's still his favorite thing for smothering pasta. If I ever make meatballs in my life, it will be because I've been intrigued with stuffing a big meatball with a round mozzarella ball. Otherwise, meat sauce for us.

Also, I just can't do dairy in a red pasta sauce. I can shower so much shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano on top of my spaghetti that it looks like a blizzard hit, but I've tried and failed to like a sauce that adds any liquid dairy. I'm sure this all looks lovely, though.

Sorry to hear you dislike dairy in a pasta sauce - but that's no impediment to giving it a try - just dispense with the cream and do a straight red tomato sauce instead. It might be a tad 'heavier' than the lighter rose sauce, but the great flavor will still be there in full measure.
And I think you'll find the meatballs fun to make, and a real juicy taste treat !
 
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I had this today and it is a lot of flavor in a small package.

Chef Paul's recipes do have a lot of steps but I'm retired and I have the time. Besides I find prep relaxing. It's a shame that so many folks don't have the time to cook from scratch.

It was the flavor of the ground fennel and the touch of heat from the hot sauce that I first fell in love with. As I kept eating I realized how beautifully all the flavors melded together to make a beautiful whole.


Liz, since you have made and loved Paul's recipe, you should submit it to this thread. There are many worthy recipes from members here..
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/submit-favorite-dc-recipes-here-88967.html
 
If you use cornstarch to thicken tomato sauce you shall be keel haul drawn and quartered, burnt at the stake and beheaded.

T
 
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