Meatballs Sicilian Style Recipes

OLD WORLD SICILIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine bread and milk or water in a medium bowl.
• Let bread soak for a couple of mins and ring out most of the milk.Break up the bread into small pieces.
• Remove the casings from the sweet sausage and break the sausage up until it matches the consistency of the ground beef.
• Mix ground beef, sausage, eggs, onion, Romano cheese, basil, oregano, bread, and salt and pepper to taste. Form golf ball-sized meatballs; place into refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add meatballs to the hot oil making sure not to crowd them. Cook meatballs in batches.
• Cook on all sides until the centers are no longer pink. 5-6 mins.Allow draining on paper towels.

FAMILY SICILIAN SAUCE AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• To make the meatballs, combine bread and milk or water in a medium bowl. Mix in ground beef, eggs, Romano cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Form golf ball-sized meatballs; place into freezer to firm up.
• To make sauce, heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and 1 sausage link; cook about 3 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, brown beef chunks and pork neck bones; set aside.
• When onions and garlic are done, turn heat down to low. Add tomato paste and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the browned beef and pork, crushed tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, cinnamon, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 to 4 hours.
• Once you add the meatballs, let sauce simmer for 1 hour. When sauce is nearly ready, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Cover pasta with sauce and meatballs and serve immediately.

TRADITIONAL SICILIAN MEATBALLS (PRUPETTI)

Steps:

• Place the bread crumbs in a medium sized bowl, pour milk over them and toss to combine. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl combine the ground meat, cheese, parsley, garlic, eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Squeeze excess milk from the bread crumbs and add to the meat mixture. Use your hands to gently combine all the ingredients.
• Shape into 24 meatballs and place on the prepared pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium heat, add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and and red pepper flakes. continue cooking for 2 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes before pouring in the tomato purée. Pour about 2 cups of water in the jar to rinse out remaining sauce and add to the sauce pan.
• Add salt and pepper, to taste and basil leaves. Bring to a simmer and nestle the baked meatballs in the sauce. Let simmer partially covered for 2-21/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• When ready to serve, transfer the meatballs to a large bowl. Boil your favorite pasta, toss with the tomato sauce and serve as a first course. Serve meatballs as a second course with tossed salad and/or side vegetable dishes.

SICILIAN-STYLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Begin by placing the white bread in a bowl. Cover with the milk - ensuring that all of the bread is moistened by the milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
• Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl. Add the soaked bread (crumble it between your fingers into very small pieces to ensure it gets evenly incorporated), eggs, garlic, parsley, oregano, parmesan cheese, currants, pine nuts, breadcrumbs, salt, allspice, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Work the meat together with your hands, making sure all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Be careful to not overwork your meat - or else you can end up with tough, dry meatballs! Form the meat into golf ball-sized meatballs - you should get 20-22 meatballs total.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meatballs in batches, cooking for about 2 minutes per side, 4-5 minutes total, rolling them around on all sides for even cooking, until golden brown on the outside. Transfer meatballs to a rimmed baking sheet or plate.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover and bring sauce to a simmer. Once simmering, add the meatballs, gently stirring them into the sauce. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes. An hour or longer is even better!
• Season to taste the sauce with additional salt if needed. Serve meatballs with freshly grated parm, a baguette, pasta, or whatever you wish!

SPAGHETTI WITH SICILIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For Sauce:
• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices and 2 tablespoons basil; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with fork, about 1 hour. Mix in 2 tablespoons basil. Season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside.
• For Meatballs:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil baking sheet. Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add sausage, pine nuts and currants; blend well. Using wet hands, form mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add to sauce.
• Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Mound in dish. Bring sauce and meatballs to simmer. Spoon over spaghetti.

SICILIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Mince or press the garlic, and chop the parsley into fine pieces (or you can cut the measurement and use dried parsley flakes).
• Grate the onion and place in a bowl.
• Add all of the ingredients above, except for the olive oil, and mix together in the bowl.
• Form balls into the size of golf balls and then dip your hand (or brush) in the oil and then rub it on the balls.
• Place on cookie sheet and brown at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• I usually add these to my marinara sauce, but you can eat them many other ways as well!

MEATBALLS SICILIAN STYLE.

Steps:

• Place dried bread cubes in a bowl and cover with cold water for 1 hour. Drain and squeeze the water out with your hands.
• Place the bread into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except the Olive Oil.
• Mix everything together with your hands very well (my butcher grinds all the meat and pork fat together for me at time of purchase, it definitely helps the mixing process).
• Grind the mixture in a food processor with the Olive Oil, if you have a good sized processor you should be able to do it in two batches, use half the oil each time. Grind the mixture very fine it will take a few minutes; you may have to scrape the bowl down a time or two.
• Return all to the bowl and mix again with your hands.
• Form into meatballs just smaller than a golf ball. The mixture will stick to your hands so keep some cold water handy to moisten your hands when this happens.
• Place the meatballs on a lightly oiled pan and cooked for 25 minutes at 375°F An extra 5 - 10 minutes if you plan to eat them right away.
• Use these meatballs for spaghetti & meatballs. If you are using a homemade sauce place sauce and meatballs in a slow cooker for 4 hours or so. I like just throwing them in the oven topped with sauce and mozzarella cheese and cook them at 375F for 25 minutes.
• I usually double up this recipe and freeze the meatballs for future meals. They turn out just as good for the next meal.

MEATBALL PIZZA, SICILIAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• For the pizza: Grease the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch rimmed baking sheet with the oil. Use your fingers to spread and stretch the dough super thin to fill the baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until the dough is slightly puffed, about 1 hour.
• For the roasted pepper honey: Place the pepper over an open flame over high heat. Roast, using tongs to turn on all sides, until completely black, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pepper to a paper bag (or to a large bowl covered with plastic), fold the bag closed and steam, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pepper to a cutting board, cut in half and scrape out and discard the seeds. Turn the pepper over and use a kitchen towel to wipe the charred skin from the outside (do not rinse). Add the pepper, honey, oil, crushed red pepper flakes if using and salt to taste to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside or keep in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.
• Gently spread the tomato sauce on top of the dough, then top with the mozzarella. Break the meatballs into small pieces and layer on top of the pizza. Sprinkle with half the basil and drizzle with olive oil. Top with half the pecorino and the oregano.
• Bake until crisped and browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on the stove over medium heat to gently fry the bottom of the pizza until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining basil and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of the roasted pepper honey and additional olive oil. Sprinkle with the remaining pecorino, slice the hot pizza and serve immediately.
• Combine the bread, milk and pepper to taste in a large bowl and mix with your hands until a paste forms. Add the beef, pork, veal, pecorino, garlic, egg, parsley and a pinch each salt and pepper, then use your hands to gently combine.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop about six 1-inch chunks of the meatball mixture into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are browned, 6 to 7 minutes total. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meatballs to a kitchen towel or plate and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Repeat with the remaining oil and meatball mixture or freeze: Arrange the remaining uncooked meatballs in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen uncooked meatballs to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and store up to 2 months. Makes 20 meatballs.