When you order meatballs in a restaurant, do you feel like you need to talk with your hands?  Make a Marlon Brando, Godfather-like grimace?  Do you crave the perfect silky, meaty, juicy, luscious, DREAMY Italian meatball?  Well then, this is gonna get your attention quick.  Course 3 in this week’s Italian Wine Dinner menuVeal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce <gleeful shudder>.  They’re so good, they’ll make you wanna binge-watch every mafia movie ever made.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I found this recipe with some other great dishes awhile back when I was feeling particularly ambitious about embarking on a multi-course Italian wine dinner.  And MAN was this a good choice.  The beauty of these meatballs is that even though I’m pairing them with other courses for an over-the-top meal, they would serve you just as well as a meal all on their own.  Toss over some pasta, and you won’t have to eat for a week.  A deep hibernation caused by great Italian meatballs–I could sign up for that.

Veal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce

Now, I know that some have a problem with veal.  I get it.  I do.  But in this day and age, it is easy (well, easier) to find humanely raised veal.  If you still don’t want to use it, no problem.  I have also made these with just the beef and pork, and they are equally good.  No harm, no foul, but still good news for your mouth.

And since this is a wine-pairing dinner, and these are made with Chianti, it stands to reason that serving these with a good Chianti is the way to go.  I mentioned one of my favorites at the beginning of this Italian meal tirade on Monday, and I stand by that recommendation.  I would choose one of the more basic Chiantis (read: less expensive) of this particular wine for the sauce, and then step up the bottle for drinking with dinner

This time of year when the clouds will not part on their own, these beautiful little gems will part them for you, shining down rays of delciousness on a cold and dreary day.  Buon Appetito!

 

Veal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce
Veal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce
Print Recipe
These are truly the best meatballs I have ever had. And I have to admit, I've had many varieties over the years (OK, I just realized that sounded dirty, but really not what I meant!). You can really taste the wine without "tasting: the wine, if that makes any sense. The slow roasting of the sauce cooks off most of the alcohol, leaving behind the richness of the grapes to co-mingle with the tomatoes and other flavors. While it takes a bit of time to make these (OK, it's an afternoon of pouring your love into this recipe), it's worth every minute. It really is a beautiful dish--but not too beautiful not to eat them up!
Servings Prep Time
30 meatballs (or about 8 people) 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
2 1/2 hours 90 minutes
Servings Prep Time
30 meatballs (or about 8 people) 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
2 1/2 hours 90 minutes
Veal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce
Veal Meatballs in Chianti Sauce
Print Recipe
These are truly the best meatballs I have ever had. And I have to admit, I've had many varieties over the years (OK, I just realized that sounded dirty, but really not what I meant!). You can really taste the wine without "tasting: the wine, if that makes any sense. The slow roasting of the sauce cooks off most of the alcohol, leaving behind the richness of the grapes to co-mingle with the tomatoes and other flavors. While it takes a bit of time to make these (OK, it's an afternoon of pouring your love into this recipe), it's worth every minute. It really is a beautiful dish--but not too beautiful not to eat them up!
Servings Prep Time
30 meatballs (or about 8 people) 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
2 1/2 hours 90 minutes
Servings Prep Time
30 meatballs (or about 8 people) 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
2 1/2 hours 90 minutes
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
For the Sauce
Servings: meatballs (or about 8 people)
Instructions
To Prepare the Meatballs
  1. In a small bowl, pour milk over breadcrumbs. Stir together and set aside for about 10 minutes.
    Meatballs Ingredients
  2. Using your hands (it's the best tool for the job here!), mix pork, beef, and veal together in a large mixing bowl. Mix in salt and pepper, then paprika and cayenne. Next, mix in parsley, sage, onion, garlic and Parmesan. Mix thoroughly with your hands to incorporate all of the ingredients, but careful not to overwork the meat as it could become tough when cooked.
    Meatballs Ingredients
  3. Stir in breadcrumbs and milk mixture, as well as eggs. Mix thoroughly.
    Meatball Mixture
  4. Shape meatballs immediately into 1 1/2 - 2 inch balls, placing on parchment paper-covered baking sheet. See recipe note below for options if you are not cooking them immediately.
    Preshaped Meatballs
To Prepare the Sauce
  1. Heat large dutch oven over medium high heat (it needs to be big enough to hold the sauce AND the meatballs when finished). Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes.
    Garlic & Onions
  2. Stir in the tomato paste and fry it for about a minutes, stirring until incorporated. Pour wine and broth into pot and bring to a simmer. At that point, add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and rosemary sprig. Cook for 45-60 minutes until the sauce has developed a deep, rich flavor. Remove from heat, remove rosemary stem, and puree with an immersion blender (or in batches in a standing blender) until smooth.
    Chianti Sauce
To Cook Meatballs
  1. Place meatballs (still raw) in the pan of sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook on low for 30-45 minutes, or until meatballs are fully cooked through (no longer pink inside).
    Meatballs in Sauce 2
  2. Serve as their own course, or over a starch like pasta or polenta. Add a glass of great Chianti, and everyone's happy!
    Meatballs
Recipe Notes

OK, so I have several notes for you on this one.

1. As mentioned at the beginning of this long recipe, if you object to (or can't find) veal, you can simply increase the amounts of the beef and pork to 3/4 lb. each to make up the difference.

2. For the meatballs, you can make them ahead of time and freeze them (uncooked) for up to a month.  You can also make them a couple hours ahead and simply refrigerate them until you're ready to drop them in the sauce.

3. Also with the meatballs, this recipe makes a lot of them.  Go with it.  The fully-cooked ones, with the sauce, also freeze very well.  Make the full amount and any extra meatballs are ready for when you need a hearty and easy dinner at your fingertips (and in your freezer).

4. Full disclosure on the wine I recommend here--we stayed at this fantastic vineyard called Fattoria Viticchio when we went to Tuscany a couple years ago.  It was a perfect location for exploring the rest of Tuscany, and of course, the wine was so darned good.  We are very lucky that stores like Total Wine and other large distributors carry many of their wines, so we can have a flashback to that trip any time we want.

5. For the sauce, the immersion blender will be your best friend if you have one handy.  Don't have one yet?  Check out this one.  It's one of my two that I have on hand (yes, I have two.  So what??).

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