Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• ¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender, about 15 minutes more.

Gently stir beef and pork together in a large bowl (do not overmix). Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook's Notes:

Some recipes use equal portions of beef, veal, and pork, which is also nice, yet more expensive. These days you can find all sorts of lean-to-fat ratios for ground beef. Most stores sell 90% lean, 10% fat, but I prefer the 80% lean, 20% fat ratio for this recipe.

Once cooked, you can add the meatballs to your favorite prepared tomato sauce for 1 to 2 hours.

Editor's Note:

Serve with homemade tomato sauce and polenta.