Frankies Meatballs Pasta Sauce Recipes

FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS (PASTA SAUCE)

Steps:

• Mix the eggs and meat thoroughly to evenly distribute. Add the Pecorino Romano cheese, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Mix thoroughly together by hand in order to combine all the ingredients.
• Then, start making your balls. Remember to compress the ball with your hands so they are very compact and will not crack. This is important because a ball with any cracks, or not compact enough, may break during the shallow frying stage.
• Now, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs over medium heat until golden brown. If the meatballs stick to the bottom of the pan, you may use a non-stick frying pan or you can fry the meatballs two at a time and keep rolling then in the hot oil.
• Place the meatballs on a new clean plate or a tray.
• Do not discard the olive oil but filter it into a small bowl in order to remove the residue created when frying the meatballs. Return filtered oil to the pan, heat, and add the chopped onion and garlic. Sweat off for about 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add 150 ml (5 fl oz or 5/8 cup) of hot water to the frying pan and cook for one minute, stirring. The gravy is done, so remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• In a large saucepan (a casserole would do the job), add the chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Then, add the gravy (tomato puree mixture) from the frying pan. Add the reserved browned meatballs. Cover with hot water. In my case, I used a very large saucepan so to cover the meatballs, I needed 2 ½ cups of water. A slightly smaller saucepan would probably require less water, I would say 1 2/3 cups.
• Add the chopped parsley, a pinch each of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, but carefully, with a wooden spoon, so as to not break the meatballs. Now, cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
• Cover (leaving one side of the lid slightly open) and simmer for about 2 ½ hours, stirring every 20 minutes to prevent sticking on bottom of the pan. Also, when doing that, turn the meatballs so the part that was face up will get the next 20 minutes cooking facing the bottom and keep going like that until the end. After 1 ½ hours simmering, check for seasoning; usually you need to add some salt.
• Serve the meatballs over al dente pasta and use the red sauce from the pan to coat the pasta. Finally, sprinkle with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (alternatively Parmesan cheese).

FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS (PASTA SAUCE)

Steps:

• We start preparing the meatballs combining all the ingredients (except the olive oil) in a large bowl. Add the eggs to the meat firstly.
• Mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the eggs with the meat.
• Add the Pecorino Romano cheese.
• Add the breadcrumbs.
• Add the chopped parsley and garlic.
• Add the salt.
• Finally, add the black pepper and mix thoroughly together in order to combine all the ingredients. At this stage I find easy to blend the ingredients by hand like working on a pasta dough.
• Then, start making your balls. Remember to compress the ball with your hands so they are very compact and will not crack. This is important because a ball with any cracks, or not compact enough, may break during the shallow frying stage.
• Now, heat the 60 ml olive oil (1/4 cup) in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs over medium heat until golden brown.
• If the meatballs stick to the bottom of the pan, you may use a non-stick frying pan or you can fry the meatballs two at a time and keep rolling them in the hot oil.
• Place the meatballs on a new clean plate or a tray.
• Do not discard the olive oil but filter it into a small bowl in order to remove the residue created when frying the meatballs.
• Now, add the filtered oil to the cleaned frying pan because now we are going to prepare the gravy.
• In the frying pan, heat the reserved oil, add the chopped onion and garlic and a sweat off for about 2 minutes.
• Then, add the tomato purèe...
• ...and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Then, add 150 ml (5/8 cup) of hot water to the frying pan and...
• ...cook for one minute, stirring. The gravy is done, so remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• Now, it's time to deal with the final stage of the recipe. In a large saucepan (also a casserole would do the job), add the chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Then, add the gravy (tomato purèe mixture) from the frying pan.
• Add the reserved browned meatballs.
• Cover with hot water. In my case, I used a very large saucepan so to cover the meatballs I needed 600 ml (1 pint - 2 1/2 cups) of water. A slightly smaller saucepan would probably require less water, I would say 400 ml (3/4 pint - 1 3/4 cups).
• Add the chopped parsley.
• Add a pinch of salt.
• Add a pinch of black pepper.
• Mix thoroughly, but carefully, with a wooden spoon, so as to not break the meatballs. Now, cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, then...
• ...cover (leaving one side of the lid slightly open) and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes to prevent sticking on bottom of the pan. Also, when doing that, turn the meatballs so the part that was in the top will get the next 20 minutes cooking facing the bottom and keep going like that until the end. After 1 1/2 hours simmering, check for seasoning; usually you need to add some salt.
• Now, serve the meatballs over al dente pasta (I used "paccheri" from Puglia region of Italy but large shells or rigatoni would do the job as well). Also, use the red sauce from the pan to coat the pasta. Finally, sprinkle with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (alternatively Parmesan cheese).
• Buon appetito and "many thanks" to Frankie for sharing his recipe and allowing me to publish it on the Italyum website.

FRANKIES' MEATBALLS RECIPE | COOK THE BOOK

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325°F. Put the fresh bread in a bowl, cover it with water, an let it soak for a minute or so. Pour off the water and wring out the bread, then crumble and tear it into tiny pieces.
• Combine the bread with all of the remaining ingredients except the tomato sauce in a medium mixing bowl, adding them in the order that they are listed. Add the dried bread crumbs last to adjust for wetness; the mixture should be moist wet, not sloppy wet.
• Shape the meat mixture into handball-sized meatballs and space them evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm but still juicy and gently yielding when they're cooked through. (At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.)
• Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the meatballs comfortably.
• Dump the meatballs into the pan of sauce and nudge the heat up ever so slightly. Simmer the meatballs for half an hour or so (this isn't one of those cases where longer is better) so they can soak up some of the sauce. Keep them there until it's time to eat.
• Serve the meatballs 3 to a person in a healthy helping of red sauce, and hit everybody's portion-never the pan-with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Reserve the leftover tomato sauce (it will be extra-super-delicious) and use it anywhere tomato sauce is called for in this book.

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes less than the package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add marinara sauce and ricotta cheese; mix to combine. Add cooked pasta and mix to combine. Season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of sauce without meatballs. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Add another layer of sauce with meatballs on top and sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Add the rest of the sauce and meatball mixture on top, followed by remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake until cheese starts to turn golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

PASTA WITH MEATBALLS AND HERB SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix together the basil, parsley and chives. Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze any excess milk from the bread; discard the milk. Combine the bread with the meat, 1 cup of the herbs and some salt and pepper; shape the mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling water until tender but not mushy. While the pasta is cooking, purée 11/2 cups of the herbs with 4 tablespoons oil, the garlic and some salt and pepper in a mini food processor or blender; leave the sauce rough or add a little water if you want it smoother. Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of its cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the herb sauce and most of the remaining herbs, adding the reserved liquid if the mixture seems dry. Top with the meatballs, garnish with Parmesan and the last of the herbs and serve.

FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS (FROM THE FAMOUS RAO'S RESTAURANT IN NYC)

Steps:

• With your hands, combine the beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add the eggs, cheese, parsley, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste and blend the ingredients together. Add the bread crumbs and blend into the meat mixture. Slowly add the water, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is moist.
• Shape the meat mixture into 2 1/2 to 3-inch balls.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the whole garlic until lightly brown to flavor the oil, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
• Add the meatballs and fry in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan. When the bottom half of the meatball is well browned and slightly crisp, about 5 to 6 minutes, turn it and cook the other side for 5 minutes more.
• Remove the meatballs from the heat and drain them on paper towels.

MEATBALLS: THE SPUNTINO WAY

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Put the fresh bread in a bowl, cover it with water, and let it soak for a minute or so. Pour off the water and wring out the bread, then crumble and tear it into tiny pieces.
• 2. Combine the bread with all the remaining ingredients except the tomato sauce in a medium mixing bowl, adding them in the order they are listed. Add the dried bread crumbs last to adjust for wetness: the mixture should be moist wet, not sloppy wet.
• 3. Shape the meat mixture into handball-sized meatballs and space them evenly on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm but still juicy and gently yielding when they're cooked through. (At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.)
• 4. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the meatballs comfortably.
• 5. Dump the meatballs into the pan of sauce and nudge the heat up ever so slightly. Simmer the meatballs for half an hour or so (this isn't one of those cases where longer is better) so they can soak up some sauce. Keep them there until it's time to eat.
• 6. Serve the meatballs 3 to a person in a healthy helping of the red sauce, and hit everybody's portion-never the pan-with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Reserve the leftover tomato sauce (it will be super-extra-delicious) and use it anywhere tomato sauce is called for in this book.

FRANKIES SPUNTINO RESTAURANT NEW YORK - ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the bread in a large bowl, cover with water and let soak until saturated, about 1 minute. Pour off the remaining water, wring out the bread, and tear it into tiny pieces (place back into bowl).
• To the bread, add all of the ingredients, except for the dried breadcrumbs (which you will add in last, using more or less as necessary).
• Using your hands, combine all the ingredients together. Form the mixture into golf ball size meatballs.
• Lay out your meatballs on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes in a 325F oven.
• At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.
• Serve 3 meatballs per person with a healthy helping of your favorite red tomato sauce (homemade or store bought). Top each portion with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Buon appetito!

FRANKIE'S MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine beef and pork using your hands. Mince 1/2 clove garlic and add to meat mixture along with the eggs, cheese, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Continue mixing with your hand until well combined. Add bread crumbs and mix well. Add water, 1 cup at a time, and continue mixing until mixture is quite moist.
• Shape mixture into 2 1/2-to-3-inch balls. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Smash remaining clove of garlic with the back of a knife and add to skillet. Cook until lightly browned and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and discard. Working in batches, add meatballs to skillet. Cook until browned and cooked through, turning, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
• Meanwhile, bring marinara sauce to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and add meatball. Let meatballs cook in sauce about 20 minutes; serve immediately with pasta, if desired.