Italian Cocktail Meatballs with Herbs and Ricotta
- Level: Easy
- Yield: about 50 meatballs
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 50 servings
- Calories
- 86
- Total Fat
- 7
- Saturated Fat
- 2
- Carbohydrates
- 2
- Dietary Fiber
- 0
- Sugar
- 1
- Protein
- 3
- Cholesterol
- 16
- Sodium
- 90
- Total: 2 hr 35 min
- Prep: 50 min
- Inactive: 1 hr
- Cook: 45 min
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.
Cook’s Note
- 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.