PrintBy Sally Ketchum
eDiets Contributor
Though meatballs have been a staple in Italian households for generations, America’s passion for them is relatively young but growing, and I’m not sure that the peak is in sight.
Until last year, my personal experience with making meatballs was limited, if nonexistent. My mother was a terrible cook. The few times she made meatballs, she put some grisly meat through her old iron grinder and rolled globs of it on her breadboard. Seasoning was salt and pepper, three shakes each.
But a few years ago, I found the recipe, the best ever Magical Meatball recipe, which I share with you. It’s healthy, it’s spinach, it’s lean meat, and it’s your choice of low-fat, reduced-sodium sauce. But most of all, it’s delicious.
I make it often and in double batches — one to freeze. I came upon the recipe accidentally. While visiting my brother in California, we toured a winery near Gilroy that offered a small assortment of gifts, and among them was Italian-American Favorite Recipes, Vol.II: Italian Catholic Federation, Gilroy Branch #28.
I brought one home, and since I was busy, tucked it away in my cookbook collection. There it stayed, until one night I asked my daughter “to make those meatballs we had at your house last summer.”
“Meatballs?” she said. “I don’t remember making meatballs.”
“Well, you did make them. I remember, and we loved them. Now, I really am hungry for meatballs!” So I perused my row of cookbooks, found my Gilroy book and made the magical recipe for the first time.
As I said, these meatballs freeze beautifully. They might break down a bit, lose some form, but the taste seems even better — flavors melded. We had them the other night over a little thin spaghetti with a large salad of greens and a baguette. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Magical Meatballs Recipe
1 large bunch of spinach, washed and torn (about 3 cups). Cooked until tender and chopped.
2 medium onions, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste.
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over low heat until soft. Add onion-garlic mixture to remaining ingredients and form golf-ball size balls. Saute, turning gently, until brown on all sides. Add your favorite gravy (spaghetti sauce). Cook gently for 40 minutes.
Note: I prefer to cook over a very low heat for two hours.
Sally Ketchum is a popular food columnist and prize-winning author of short fiction.
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