Italian Cocktail Meatballs With Herbs And Ricotta Recipes

COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the beef, egg, cheese, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, 2 teaspoons mustard, the Worcestershire sauce, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl; mix with your hands until combined. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs (about 24) and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
• Mix the ketchup, brown sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon mustard in a small bowl and brush on the meatballs. Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter and top with scallions.

ITALIAN COCKTAIL MEATBALLS WITH HERBS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Mix the ground meats, ricotta, parsley, panko crumbs, onion, pecorino, bacon, garlic, milk, thyme, egg, salt, Worcestershire, and black pepper, to taste, in a large bowl. Mix until just combined; don't overmix. The mixture will be pretty soft. Using your hands, gently form mixture into 1 tablespoon small meatballs (about the size of ping pong balls). Put them on a large plate or pan; cover and refrigerate at least an hour or up to 24 hours. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and repeat with the remaining meatballs. Drain off the oil and wipe out the skillet. Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve the meatballs, skewered on a platter with a dollop of the sauce and a fresh leaf of basil. They can be serve warm or at room temperature. The meatballs can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 weeks. Meatball wisdom: - Be gentle when you're forming meatballs--too firm a hand makes them dense and tough. - These can be frozen cooked (in sauce) or raw; freeze raw meatballs on a cookie sheet, then transfer them to resealable plastic bags. Cooked-in-sauce meatballs can go into plastic containers.

CHEF JOHN'S ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
• Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

ITALIAN COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Thoroughly mix all the meatball ingredients, except olive oil. Roll into ½" balls and fry in oil until well browned. Drain, set aside until sauce is ready.
• Combine all ingredients, except cheese in the skillet meatballs were cooked in (if there is a lot of fat, remove most of it - leaving any browned bits in the skillet). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour over very low heat. Add meatballs and simmer another hour, stirring several times very gently. Pour into chafing dish, crockpot or other serving dish and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
• These freeze well - just be careful when defrosting and breaking them up. Be gentle - so not to break up the meatballs.
• Note: I have indicated this makes about 36 meatballs -- but that's just a complete guess off the top of my head! I couldn't post the recipe without putting something in that field!

CHEF JOHN'S RICOTTA MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Saute onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic into onion and turn off heat. Transfer onion mixture to a large mixing bowl.
• Stir ground beef, ricotta cheese, parsley, egg, kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper with onion mixture until almost combined; stir in bread crumbs and continue to mix until thoroughly blended.
• Roll about 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 1-inch ball for each meatball. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet used to cook onions. Place skillet over medium heat and brown meatballs on all sides in hot oil, about 5 minutes. Hold a crumpled paper towel in a tongs and use it to remove excess grease from skillet.
• Pour marinara sauce and water over meatballs in skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.

ITALIAN COCKTAIL MEATBALLS WITH HERBS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Mix the ground meats, ricotta, parsley, panko crumbs, onion, pecorino, bacon, garlic, milk, thyme, egg, salt, Worcestershire, and black pepper, to taste, in a large bowl. Mix until just combined; don't overmix. The mixture will be pretty soft. Using your hands, gently form mixture into 1 tablespoon small meatballs (about the size of ping pong balls). Put them on a large plate or pan; cover and refrigerate at least an hour or up to 24 hours. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and repeat with the remaining meatballs. Drain off the oil and wipe out the skillet. Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve the meatballs, skewered on a platter with a dollop of the sauce and a fresh leaf of basil. They can be serve warm or at room temperature. The meatballs can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 weeks. --- *Be gentle when you're forming meatballs--too firm a hand makes them dense and tough. *These can be frozen cooked (in sauce) or raw; freeze raw meatballs on a cookie sheet, then transfer them to resealable plastic bags. Cooked-in-sauce meatballs can go into plastic containers.