Photo: Italian Cocktail Meatballs with Herbs and Ricotta Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound ground pork
- 3/4 pound ground turkey
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) whole milk ricotta
- 1/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 medium onion, grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 3 tablespoons finely grated pecorino
- 1 slice bacon, finely minced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or lemon thyme
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 cups homemade or quality jarred marinara sauce
- Small fresh basil leaves
Directions
Mix the ground meats, ricotta, parsley, panko crumbs, onion, pecorino, bacon, garlic, milk, thyme, egg, salt, Worcestershire, and black pepper, to taste, in a large bowl. Mix until just combined; don't overmix. The mixture will be pretty soft.
Using your hands, gently form mixture into 1 tablespoon small meatballs (about the size of ping pong balls). Put them on a large plate or pan; cover and refrigerate at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and repeat with the remaining meatballs.
Drain off the oil and wipe out the skillet. Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Serve the meatballs, skewered on a platter with a dollop of the sauce and a fresh leaf of basil. They can be serve warm or at room temperature.
The meatballs can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 weeks.
Meatball wisdom:
- Be gentle when you're forming meatballs--too firm a hand makes them dense and tough.
- These can be frozen cooked (in sauce) or raw; freeze raw meatballs on a cookie sheet, then transfer them to resealable plastic bags. Cooked-in-sauce meatballs can go into plastic containers.
Copyright (c) 2007 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved
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By Fiona99
on June 06, 2013
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Delicious! I made them exactly as stated. The perfect recipe for a party. I couldn't get them on the plate fast enough..,my guests were eating them right out of the pan! They were literally gone in 5 minutes! They are also very easily made ahead of time and then warmed up in the sauce when they are ready to serve.
By tina3148
on January 13, 2013
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This recipe for meatballs is amazing! I made it for just my husband and I so ended up halving all of the ingredients in the recipe since I only wanted to make 25 meatballs instead of 50. It tasted just wonderful! We even have leftovers for tomorrow night. I also wanted to point out a few adjustments I had to make. I didnt have an onion or garlic on hand (my husband doesn't like those ingredients anyway, so I didn't use them. I didn't have thyme either, but didn't notice it was missing because the meatballs came out great anyway! I also didn't use 1 slice of bacon but added bacon bits. The flavor of the bacon bits added taste to the meatballs and removed the extra step of having to cook one slice of bacon for the recipe. I really liked these minor adjustments. These will make a great appetizers that everyone will love. My husband loved them - and we had them for dinner with low carb pasta. Great recipe that I highly recommend!
By shmoney1
on December 16, 2012
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Made these for a party and they were amazing. The only change I made was I used 1lb of lamb, 1lb or pork and 1lb of turkey. I then double the other ingredients. These were delish!
Update: Made these for the 2nd time for another party and they were a huge hit again. Everyone says these are the best meatballs they have ever had. Made them the same way as above.
Read all 19 reviews