Meatballs in Savory Tomato Sauce
Instructions:
- Savory Tomato Sauce
- 1 1/ 3 pounds ground beef, ground twice (600 g)
- 2 large slices of Italian bread
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 /2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 / 4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 ounce pancetta (30 g)
- 1/ 2 small peeled clove of garlic
- Small handful of parsley
- 1 large sprig of fresh marjoram leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 eggs
- 1 / 4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (25 g)
- 1/ 4 cup raisins, plumped in warm water and drained (30 g)
- 1/ 3 cup pine nuts (35 g)
- 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs,or more as needed (100 g)
- 1 / 2 cup olive oil (120 ml)
- Savory Tomato Sauce
- 2 ounces pancetta (60 g)
- Small handful of parsley
- 1 small celery rib, trimmed
- 1 small carrot, peeled
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled
- 1/ 4 cup extra virgin olive oil (60 ml)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (1.35 kg), or 2 cans (28 ounces) Italian peeled tomatoes with their juices (1.6 kg)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Prepare the sauce first. To make the meatballs, put the ground beef in a large bowl. Trim the crusts from the bread and tear the bread into pieces. Soak the bread in cold water. Drain and squeeze out the water. Using your hands, mix the softened bread into the beef. Season with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Chop together the pancetta, garlic, parsley, and marjoram and add to the meat. Beat the eggs and stir them in along with the Parmesan cheese, raisins, and pine nuts. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly with your hands. Form 10 large meatballs (polpette), about 3 inches in diameter, slightly flattened on top. Roll them in the dry bread crumbs until they are well coated.
- Heat the olive oil to shimmering in a large skillet and fit the polpette into the pan. Saute over moderately high heat, turning, until the meatballs are brown outside and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Drain the meatballs on paper towels. Gently lower them into the Savory Tomato Sauce and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Savory Tomato Sauce
- Make the battuto: Chop together the pancetta, parsley, celery, carrot, and garlic, turning the ingredients with your knife and mixing as you chop.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the battuto and continue cooking over moderately low heat until the vegetables are very soft and the onion is golden, 7 to 10 minutes, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of water every now and then to allow the seasonings to cook without burning.
- Add the fresh tomatoes, or the canned plum tomatoes with about three-quarters of their juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and finish cooking the sauce for 15 minutes over moderate heat, mashing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon and stirring often.