Neapolitan Meatballs With Ragu Recipes

NEAPOLITAN RAGU

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count of olive oil and gently brown the meatballs. Meanwhile, with a mortar and pestle, grind the salt, black peppercorns and fennel seeds with some olive oil into a grainy paste. Rub the ribs and shoulder with the mixture.
• Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. In the same pot, brown the shoulder pieces and ribs, in batches. Alternately to save time, roast the ribs in a preheated 500 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes while you brown the shoulder pieces in the pot.
• Remove the shoulder pieces and ribs to the meatball plate and let rest.
• Add a little more olive oil to the pot and add the thyme, oregano, carrots, onion and celery. Stir it around and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Cook the vegetables until they are slightly softened and have some nice color. Add the wine, tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Nestle the pork shoulder pieces back into the middle of the pot then arrange the ribs around the sauce. Finish by placing the meatballs in the gaps (some of the pieces will be sticking out from the sauce but that's perfectly fine as it will roast and caramelize). Use a spoon to baste everything well, cover, then put the pot into the oven and roast until the pork is tender and the meat is just falling off the rib bones, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• For the topping: Combine the chopped raisins, toasted pine nuts and parsley in a small bowl.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs and ribs to a large platter. Remove the pork shoulder pieces from the pot and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into bite-size pieces and adding them to the platter. Puree the sauce in a food processor then add it back to the pot and set over medium heat. Reduce the sauce until it is rich and thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to a medium bowl. Spoon a little sauce over the spaghetti and the remaining sauce over the platter of meat. Garnish the meat platter with the raisin mixture and serve.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but not colored, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Add the bread to a medium bowl and pour in the milk. Let the bread soak while the onions are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and cheese and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add it to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands until just mixed together. Don't overwork the mixture or the meatballs will be tough. Divide the mixture into 8 equal pieces and shape them into 8 nice looking meatballs. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

ITALIAN RAGU WITH MEATBALLS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large sauce pot (8-quart size minimum), heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil on a very low flame. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until it has turned translucent. Do not brown the onion, but allow it to almost melt away. Add the garlic cloves and very lightly cook them in the oil until golden before adding the tomatoes and all their juices. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the basil leaves and set the heat on low. Allow the tomatoes to cook at very low heat for at least 2 hours before adding the meat.
• Make the meatballs: mix the ground beef and veal together in a large bowl. Combine the bread and milk and mash together to form a paste; add the bread to the ground meat. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and combine all the ingredients using your fingers to mix uniformly, but do not over mix or the meat will dry out when cooked. Pick up 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball shape, between the palms of your hands. Do this until you have used all the meat. This should yield approximately 24 meatballs.
• Place the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat over medium flame. Add the meatballs in 1 layer and brown on all sides before removing. Do this to the remaining meatballs until all are browned to a caramelized color. After all the meatballs have been browned and removed from the skillet, add the sausage links and brown well, following the same method as the meatballs. When all the meat has cooked, add to the tomato ragu, which has been cooking for 2 hours and cook an additional hour. Serve the tomato ragu over rigatoni pasta cooked to manufacturer's directions. Serve the meats on another plate as a second course.

POLPETTE ALLA NAPOLETANA (NEAPOLITAN MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, soak the bread cubes in water to cover for a minute or two.
• Drain the bread cubes and squeeze with your fingers to press out the excess moisture (make sure you do this well).
• In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, beef, eggs, garlic, pecorino, parsley, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper, and mix with your hands to incorporate.
• With wet hands, form the mixture into 12-15 meatballs, each smaller than a tennis ball, but larer than a golf ball.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until almost smoking.
• Add the meatballs and, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan, cook until deep golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cook all the meatballs for 30 minutes.
• Set aside and allow to cool; save the sauce for another use.