Makes approximately 15 meatballs.
1 slice white or whole wheat sandwich bread
¼ cup of skim milk
1 1/2 pounds ground lean sirloin or round
(May substitute ground turkey, a mixture of light and dark meat.
Other options are ground veal and ground chicken.)
4 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Prepare the bread: Remove the crusts, cut into small cubes, soak a couple of minutes in the milk.
• Mix the ingredients with a fork until well amalgamated.
• Roll the meatballs by hand, forming approximately 15 balls (you can adjust the size as you wish).
• Drop rolled meatballs into a large pot of hot simmering tomato sauce and let simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes on low heat, gently stirring occasionally so they don’t stick.
Use the same quantities of the above ingredients, except use 1 ½ pounds lean ground sirloin (omit the pork and veal), and also the raisins, marsala, and pine nuts. Mix and roll the meatballs, cook in simmering sauce as above.
Note: by eliminating any oil in the cooking, approximately 32 calories per meatball have been eliminated without compromising flavor. They come out moist and delicious!
Calories 97
Calories from fat 36%
Fat (grams) 7
Saturated fat (grams) 3
Cholesterol (milligrams) 90
Carbohydrates (grams) 2
Protein (grams) 14
Sodium (milligrams) 321
You may use your own recipe for tomato sauce to simmer the meatballs in or a quality jarred sauce, such as Rao’s. My homemade San Marzano Tomato Sauce Recipe will be in the book as well.
Buon’ Appetito!
