Giant Italian Meatballs with a Secret and Green Beans with Pancetta

Have I told you how much I love Italian food? I really, really, REALLY love Italian food. I love to cook all sorts of things but I think I love Italian (and desserts) the most. So, the recipe for these meatballs is something I have made a couple of times now and I've changed enough things that I think I could claim this as my own. It's based off of this recipe and here comes my version:

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
3 large links Italian sausage (I've also used honey garlic sausage for this and it was also awesome)
2 large eggs
1 cup panko crumbs (the original recipe calls for stale Italian bread mixed with milk etc, and though that would be wonderful, I find panko does a great job on it's own. Also, it was what I had in my cupboard).
1 bunch parsley, chopped (should end up with about 1 cup)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 mini mozzarella balls (Bocconcini)

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees then put everything but the mozzarella balls in a bowl.

Now, don't be a wuss, and just get your hands in there and mix it all up. You'll do the best job with your hands, so just get right in there. Once it's all mixed up, I like to make one huge ball and then portion off from there.

Split this huge meatball into four. Make an indentation in each and place two mozzarella balls in each.

Form the meat back over the mozzarella and place each on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil

Put in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden. I do the full 30 just to make sure they are cooked all the way through.
Once you have the meatballs in the oven, start your sauce.

For the sauce:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or less if you don't want to use that much)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 or 4 sprigs basil
Kosher salt, to taste

Preheat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring for about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, 1 cup of water, about a teaspoon of salt and the basil sprigs. I don't actually know exactly what they mean by "sprigs" so I just used whatever basil leaves I had.

Bring that to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Once the meatballs are finished, add them to the sauce...

Then spoon some of the sauce over top. Continue spooning sauce over top with the burner on low until ready to serve. Boil whatever pasta you would like, then place a meatball on top and some ricotta cheese on top of the meatball.

Yep, just as delicious as it looks.

Okay, onto the green beans. This one comes straight out of Food Network Magazine.

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed
4 ounces pancetta, diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup panko crumbs
Pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until bright green, about four minutes. Drain, then plunge the beans into a ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain again.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook until crispy, then drain on paper towels.
Add the garlic to the pancetta drippings and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add the panko crumbs and stir around, until golden and toasted, another minute.

Add the green beans and to the skillet and cook, tossing until evenly coated, about 2 minutes. Add the pancetta and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss that shit up and serve. With lemon wedges if you feel so lead.

Look at that! What a beaut. On a side note, you should all watch the show Call the Midwife on Netflix. A-may-zing show. Amazing. The BBC never does anything wrong.

xoxoxoxo


Ash