If there is one comfort food that we love from Italy, it would have to be meatballs which is why we want to share a delicious meatball recipe! Unlike the imported American tradition of eating meatballs with spaghetti, Italians serve their meatballs as a secondo, or second course dish separate from pasta. They are typically eaten on their own in sauce, perhaps with a bit of bread on the side. This recipe variation includes another Italian favorite – wine! Cabernet Sauvignon to be exact – one of our favorites!
Ingredients for Cabernet Sauvignon Meatball Recipe
2 lbs. ground beef
½ loaf bread
2 eggs
fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
½ cup Cabernet Sauvignon red wine
salt
pepper
vegetable oil (for frying)
Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce
1 garlic clove, cut in half4 – 5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
28 oz. can crushed, peeled tomatoes
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
basil
salt
pepper
Preparation forCabernet Sauvignon Meatball Recipe
In a large bowl, add your ground beef, eggs, chopped fresh parsley and grated cheese. In a separate bowl, take your bread and break it up into small cubes. You can use your hands to do this or a knife. It is ok to use bread that is a few days old. In the same bowl, add your Cabernet Sauvignon red wine and cover your bread with it. Now mix it all up with your hands and make sure the bread has fully absorbed the red wine. The bread should be moist but there should be no extra wine in the bottom of the bowl. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Not too much salt as your cheese will add a bit of saltiness to the mix.
Add the bread and wine mixture to the ground beef mixture. Mix it all together with your hands. Make sure you have evenly mixed all the ingredients.
Cover the bottom of a frying pan with vegetable oil to about ¼ of an inch high over medium heat. While your frying oil is heating, begin to roll the ground meat mixture into meatballs, a bit larger than a golf ball. Place the meatballs in the frying pan, and separate them well. Watch carefully and turn them as soon as the sides get browned. Continue until all sides are browned.
When they are fully cooked, place on a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Now onto the tomato sauce. In a large pot, add the extra virgin olive oil and your garlic clove on medium heat. When the garlic begins to brown, add your crushed tomatoes. Continue to crush them with a fork in the pot. Let the tomatoes simmer for about 25 minutes. Add a bit of salt and pepper and your red wine. Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Add your meatballs and let simmer for another 15 minutes. Turn off heat and add basil.
Your meatballs are ready to be served!
Wine Pairing:Cabernet Sauvignon of course!
