Every Saturday night the Southern husband and I have what we call The Restaurant Project. We have a long list of restaurants we want to try, and each Saturday we try a new one. We’ve kept it up for two years now (and all I can say is thank goodness for the GPS) but as you can imagine, we’ve now seen a lot of menus…and one thing that’s been popping up on a lot of them is meatballs with ricotta. Not spaghetti with meatballs…just meatballs. With ricotta. And every time I saw it I got a little more obsessed, until one day I snapped. It had to happen in my kitchen.
Now, I didn’t have to think for more than 5 seconds about the sauce…it needed to be the
tomato butter sauce [1] that I am completely obsessed with making. Light, creamy, perfect. Next I worked on my old standby approach to meatballs until I could start them on the stove and finish them in the sauce. So far, so good.
Now obviously one of the key parts to this recipe is the ricotta. No supermarket stuff for me…I look for any excuse to make fresh ricotta [2]. It’s fast and fabulous and super-easy, and if you haven’t tried it, you really MUST! It takes all of 15 minutes, and it’s worth every single second.
Okay! Sauce, check. Meatballs, check. Ricotta, check. It needed one last thing.
This beautiful bouquet was the last crop from this winter’s herb Aerogarden [3], and this recipe meant I could end the winter basil crop with a bang! I sliced the leaves into a pretty little chiffonade, and just like that, I realized why this was on everyone’s restaurant menu. Who needs pasta, anyway? Maybe a little bread [4] on the side…but that’s it! Happiness is meatballs with ricotta.
Meatballs with Fresh Ricotta
Ingredients
3/4 pounds meatloaf mix (1/4 lb each ground beef, veal and pork), or you can use all ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups of tomato sauce (homemade or jarred)
1 cup ricotta cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup slivered basil leaves
Directions
1. Make meatballs by combining meat, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, pepper and cream in a bowl. Mix together well and form into 12 meatballs. (These can be done ahead and refrigerated.)
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high, and add meatballs. Brown on all sides, turning gently, until they are browned but not cooked through, about 7-10 minutes total.
3. Pour sauce into a large saucepan. Carefully add meatballs, and heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until meatballs are cooked through.
4. Divide meatballs among plates, top with ricotta and slivered basil. Serve at once with bread on the side if you like!
2.2
Still Hungry?
Skillet Spaghetti and Meatballs [7] from Framed Cooks
Meatball Pizza [8] from Leite’s Culinaria
Mexican Meatball Soup [9] from Framed Cooks