Garlic Lover's Meatballs and Sauce

By Addie

This dish is a staple in our part of the country. My daughter Amber and I invented our version after eating at an Italian restaurant in St. Louis. We came pretty close to copying that dish, but added our own little twist.

Ingredients

• MEATBALLS:
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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• SAUCE:
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes in puree
• 2 to 3 cups water, divided
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Additonal grated Parmesan cheese and minced fresh parsley, optional

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 12 meatballs. In a large skillet, brown meatballs in oil on all sides; drain.

In a Dutch oven, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, 2 cups water, tomato sauce and paste, parsley, cheese, basil and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; carefully add meatballs.

Cover and simmer for 3 hours, adding more water if needed to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley if desired. Yield: 6 servings.
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REVIEWS:

I don't ever want to use jarred sauce again! Also- I don't like meatballs but this recipe made me change my mind. I also used ground turkey in place of ground beef.

This is a great recipe. We had it for leftovers and it might have even tasted better the second day! I used Italian seasoning since I was out of basil.

My daddy was born in Italy; he would have been so proud of your meatballs - identical to what he used to make. I must take exception to your sauce. Water has no place in this sauce. Macaroni sauce is thick; spaghetti sauce is thin - just not thinned with water. And meatballs are not served with spaghetti in Daddy's Italy - only with macaroni. So are brachiole and sausage. You may wish to add the meatballs about the last 1/2 hour of sauce cooking - just to cook them all the way through.

Very similiar to mine as well except I use grape jam instead of sugar and a good dash of red wine to the sauce.

This sounds similar to a a recipe I've used for many years, adapted from my Italian Grandmother's recipe, except that I add chopped sweet onion & my own twist, chopped bell pepper; also, you don't need to simmer the meatballs & sauce for more than 30 - 45 min, tops, or it tends to taste "over-cooked." All-in-all, a very good recipe!!