Italian Pork and Veal Meatballs [Best Ever Devised].
This is a really flavoursome dish, very full and hearty. Best served with gutsy red wine and garlic−butter hot bread. You know -- the sort of thing for a rollicking good family meal. Serve it outdoors maybe, in the garden under the darkening sky in spring or early autumn, surrounded by lights, nature and merry family members on a Friday night before the young ones go out to hunt and gather. (I think that's what they do?) and the oldies retire to the comfort of each others company, at peace with each other and with the world.
Italian Pork and Veal Meatballs − Best Ever Devised.
Large Bowl Full of Vegetables: Cut to 1.5 cm squares/cubes: Red capsicum, green capsicum, big onion, bunch shallots, ten cloves garlic sliced thinly, 10−20 mushrooms (chunky cut), celery, whatever you like of that sort of veg. Remember this is not to be a pot of meatballs and sauce. It's a pot of chunky veg, meatballs and sauce. Keep the veg chunky so they are still apparent and contribute individually to the textures and tastes after simmering.
Braise the vegetables in 2 tbsp olive oil in a v hot frying pan with a handful of diced bacon and six cloves crushed garlic.
Spread this veg stuff over the bottom of a very large simmering pot with a very solid base. The meatballs come next and the idea of the veg layer is to keep your balls off the hot bottom while they simmer.
Yahoo Serious Meatballs: Put this into a large mixing bowl after you blend it to a mince−like paste: 400 gm veal, 400 gm pork, large onion, 3 slices bread, half handful bacon, six cloves garlic. Then add to the bowl 1 egg, four big splodges of dark soy sauce, same of Worcestershire sauce, very generous white pepper, NO salt, three tbsp tomato paste, handful finely chopped basil, 1 flat teaspoon rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves (only use fresh leaves chopped fine − or − if dry grind with tiny bit olive oil to a paste). Mix it all by hand for a good while. Roll into meat balls between palms of hands. The meatballs should be small -- no larger than ping pong balls. This quantity of ingredients will do about 50 balls. Roll your balls in plain flour and set aside.
Braise your flour−coated balls in the v hot frying pan with a little olive oil. Turn them by shaking the pan every so often. Don't cook them, just brown the outsides. Then put them in a layer in the simmering pot on top of the layer of vegetables.
Medium Saucepan Full of Sauce: A can diced tomatoes, bottle supermarket bolognese sauce, small packet supermarket [liquid] chicken stock (or use cubes+water), cup of frozen home−made sauce/gravy [you should always freeze one cup of sauce/rich gravy from every suitable meal so you can go on endlessly seeding sauces for the next], two cups gutsy red wine + any tasty secret splodges of stuff that take your fancy.
De glaze the pan by pouring in the saucepan of cold sauce, stir and bring to heat. {I don't care if you think this is not trad de glazing – go invent your own recipe} Tip this hot stuff over the layers of veg and balls in the simmering pot. Put on the lowest heat, lid on, and go away for 30 minutes. Then check, recheck each 30 minutes until a total of 2−2.5 hours has gone by. If sauce appears to be too thick, take the lid off for the last 1/2 hour.
It's ready to serve (or put away for the evening meal the next day). I usually serve it with pasta and garlic−buttered crispy rolls wrapped in foil and heated in the oven.
Remember to freeze the leftover sauce so you can seed the sauce/stock/gravy for the next meal that needs sauce/stock/gravy.
Invented by Swerdna maybe 1998 , and written here because I just made it for tomorrow's 23/06/06 dinner to be Grandpa with Oma, Suzy, Ryan and Jamie. There'll be no washing dishes because that's already done and furthermore it's better if left to age overnight.
Ahhh! Sweet Mystery of Life at last I've found you!!! Cooking is singing but Italian cooking is singing lustily to God!!!
Swerdna circa 1998