Meatballs and Sauce

In about 2 hours, you'll be surrounded by hungry people wanting to taste your meatballs and sauce. This meatball recipe calls for equal amounts of pork, beef, and lamb. We mixed in bread and onions into the meatballs, which helped them hold their shape and not get chewy or dry.

Make an onion mixture first. Get a big pot and put several tablespoons of olive oil in it. Heat the oil up for a few minutes. Don't let it get smoking hot. Just hot. 

Chop up two or three medium-sized yellow onions. 

Cook onions low and slow. About 10 to 15 minutes. Until they get brown and soft. Then, add about 6-8 cloves of chopped/minced garlic. I cheat and buy a jar of finely chopped garlic. Add oregano and crushed red pepper to your taste. Cook for a few minutes. It'll smell really good. 

Split it. Put half of onion mixture into large bowl and set aside. This will be mixed with the meat. The rest stays in the medium-hot pot. 

Begin the sauce. Add tomato paste to the onion mixture that's in the pot. Cook that until fragrant. About a minute. It'll be clumpy like mud. Add a cup of red wine and cook until it gets thick. 

Stir in a the tomato paste. Stir in the tomatoes. I like using 4 cans of tomatoes. 2 cans of diced. 1 can of puree. 1 can of crushed. Pour in 1 can of water. Heat it all up for about an hour. Reduce down a bit and it'll get thicker. Not watery. 

Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese. I grate my own. 

Stir in cheese and a tablespoon of basil.
Add salt and sugar according to your taste.
​Use a clean spoon to taste your sauce as you go. 

In a separate bowl with the onion mixture, add chopped-up bread and a cup of milk. Squish it to make a paste with the onion mixture. This will help the meatballs keep their shape. 

Add a cup of grated parmesan cheese and a few tablespoons of parsley to the mushy mixture. 

Add two eggs.
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic.

Add the meat. I used 3 pounds of meat with equal parts of beef, pork and lamb. Your local butcher in the grocery store should have that available. 

Spray two metal baking sheets with oil.
Mix the meatballs into about 1.5-inch diameter meatballs.
​Put the meatballs on the sheet.
Cook them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes.