I never thought I would like meatballs with lemon in them.
Options: The lemon goes really well with spinach and probably other greens too— maybe chard or kale. I’ve been alternating between two sauces: one is Marcella Hazan’s classic with the onion and butter and the other is a kind of basic sauce with a little wine kick. These meatballs are all beef, but you can make them with a combination of beef, veal, and pork, or you can make them with ground chicken or turkey— maybe even tofu. I make this with a panade of Tuscan bread soaked in milk if I have it, but I use whatever I have: Panko, bread crumbs, or saltines. I usually make this with gemelli pasta but I could only find strozzapreti this time. Any pasta could work here; wagon wheels could be fun.
Timing note: It takes me about 10-15 minutes to make the meatballs and then they take around a half hour in the oven. Once the meatballs go into the sauce, I like to let them simmer for 20-25 minutes, but you can skip this step and have the meal done in less than 45 minutes. I usually check email or clean up while they simmer.
For this four person version, you’ll need:
1 to 1 1/3 pound of 90% lean organic grass-fed beef
1 pound of gemelli pasta
1 large slice of Tuscan or Italian bread (around 1″ thick)
1/2 cup or so of whole milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon each of lemon zest and juice (or more, or less to taste)
8 cloves garlic (I used four cloves in the meatballs and four in the sauce)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil (or other mild oil)
1 small yellow onion (or half a large one)
1/2 cup of red wine
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Organic)
8 oz fresh baby spinach (or other greens)— save a few leaves to garnish
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
Optional: fresh cracked pepper, Parmesan or Romano
Cooking equipment I used:
Saute or saucepan (I used a 3 qt All-Clad lidded saute pan)
13×18 sheet pan for meatballs (or toaster oven pan)
4 qt stock pot for pasta and spinach
Put a rack in the upper third and get the oven going at 400ºF.
Start with the meatballs. I like this recipe best when I make a panade with a large slice of Tuscan or Italian bread in milk. If you want to do this, you need to get this going first. In a small bowl, break the bread into small pieces and add about a half cup of milk and then use a fork to kind of smush the bread and milk together; you’ll need to keep coming back and smushing it while you work on the other stuff. You may need to add more milk. If you don’t want to use bread, you can use a half cup of Panko or bread crumbs or even eight smashed-up saltines. You can soak these in milk or just add to the rest of the mix dry.
Next, line your sheet pan with parchment or foil if needed. In a large bowl, beat up one egg. To this you add around a tablespoon of lemon zest, around a tablespoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of crushed rosemary, minced or pressed garlic (I ran four cloves through the garlic press last time I made this but you may want to start with one), and around a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the bread mixture or crumbs and the meat and mix everything together. Now you can make the meatballs. I have been making them a medium size, around two inches giving me 16 meatballs. Once you have them done put them in the oven. They’ll take around twenty-five, maybe thirty minutes to get nice and brown.
Set your bowls on the stove to warm.
Next up is the sauce. In a large saute or saucepan (you’ll need room to put the meatballs in later if you want) add a few tablespoons of olive oil and get that warming up on medium while you finely chop a small yellow onion or half of a large one and add to the oil. Turn the heat up to kind of sizzle but not brown the onions. Add a teaspoon of salt. Finely chop or put through the press however many cloves of garlic you want (I used four again). Add the garlic to the onions and saute until the onions are sort of translucent. Now deglaze the pan with a half cup of red wine and let it reduce to about half. Then add one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. You can taste it now and see if it needs more salt or some pepper. If you think you want more sauce, you can add a 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce. Let this kind of simmer/bubble on medium/low with the lid slightly ajar.
When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce.
There’s a little bit of a lag here depending on how you want to do this. I like to let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 20-25 minutes, so I usually don’t start the pasta water until the meatballs go in the sauce. I use the time to clean up the prep area or go through the mail, whatever.
So, depending on your timing— gemelli usually takes 12-13 minutes— once the meatballs are in the sauce, get your pasta water started on high, salting it if you want, and get out the colander. Also get the spinach out. When the pasta is three minutes from finished, add the spinach, mixing it with the pasta as it wilts— if you try kale or chard, they may need an extra minute. You could probably add the spinach to the sauce— and I may try that— my worry is it will make the sauce taste bitter.
Once the pasta and spinach are drained, it’s ready. You can top with some Parmesan or Romano or both or none.
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