Alberti’s Big Juicy Italian Meatballs

“Everyone Loves our Italian balls” 😉

We are famous for our Italian Meatballs. This is one of our favourite family recipes to cook, passed down through generations. Every self respecting Italian cook has a good meatball recipe and ours is the best. It is quick and simple and everyone loves our Italian balls. Like in life, bigger is better and Italians do it best. They are big, juicy, served in a classic tomato sauce and are definitely a mouthful!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

For the Meatballs

• 250g/8oz beef mince
• 250g/8oz pork mince
• 250g/8oz veal mince
• 100g/1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
• 4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100g/1 cup Breadcrumbs/Italian bread softened in milk
• 2 Large eggs
• Small handful, finely chopped basil
• Small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
• Salt & Pepper

The Alberti Tomato Sauce

• 3x 500g/6 cups tomato passata
• 100g/1/2 cup tomato puree
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Handful of basil, finely chopped

Method

First things first, get the tomato sauce on the go. Use a large sauce pan for this, add a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and add the chopped garlic and fry until golden. Add the passata and tomato puree, stir well and cook for 10 mins. Remember to keep stirring the sauce.  Season with salt and pepper, the chopped basil and stir. Always, always remember to stir the sauce 😉

Now get a big bowl and add the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix the ingredients well with your hands. It should be soft and not too wet when finished. Then start to form your meatballs whatever size you want. Shape the mixture in your hands and roll on the palm of your hands to form a smooth ball and place each meatball on a tray to sit. Once all meatballs are done and this is where we differ to most, we add them straight into the sauce one by one. Usually people tend to fry or bake them a little first before adding to the sauce, but we find adding the meatballs to the sauce straight away, they are more soft, tender and juicy and don’t become dry. Don’t worry about the meatballs breaking apart, just leave them in the sauce for 5 minutes to settle before stirring a little. Let them simmer for around 4 hours in the sauce until ready to serve.

Twins Tips: If you want the meatballs with a bit of a kick add some Peperoncino chilli flakes or cayenne chilli powder to the mixture.

There you have it The Alberti Twins Italian Meatballs. Hope you all enjoy our Italian balls 😉 Buon appetito