Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Nothing is more comforting than our childhood's food memories, right?

This is why, we want to share with you one of our Nonna's special recipes, which will be warming you up this fall. Our polpette al sugo, or meatballs with tomato sauce, combine some of the best tastes of Italy and are great with pasta or just a nice arugula salad (and bread to dip in the sauce! ).

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the Meatballs 

• 300g beef 

• 200g pork (or 500g of ground veal)

• 80g bread crumbs

• Milk to taste (I use water instead)

• 40 g parmesan (or pecorino) 

• 1 egg

• 1 clove of garlic 

• 1 sprig of parsley 

• Salt to taste

• Pepper as needed

For the Sauce

• 1 onion 

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Basil to taste

• 1kg tomato pulp

• 1 tsp of sugar

Method

• To prepare the sauce: in a suitable pan pour the oil and gently fry the chopped onion without letting it color

• Combine the tomato pulp, (the sugar, if you wish) a pinch of salt and a few leaves of basil, leaving the sauce to cook for about ten minutes

• Soak the breadcrumbs with the milk in a bowl (or with water). It is not necessary to use stale bread. 

• Finely chop the parsley

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl including the well-wrung breadcrumbs by working the dough for a long time. Mix well

• With wet hands, divide the dough into meatballs the size of a golf ball

• Pour a little oil into a pan and sear the meatballs quickly, 2 or 3 minutes per side

• Once you have cooked all the meatballs, add them to the sauce, continuing to cook on a low flame for 20/30 minutes (depending on the size of the meatballs), turning them every so often.

• Serve the meatballs hot or lukewarm sprinkling them with a little chopped parsley.