Recipe Penne Regate with Meatballs

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Making pasta and meatballs can be the easiest thing if you want a quick meal. You can buy pasta in a box, sauce in a jar, and meatballs from the freezer.

But, as Italian mothers and fathers know very well, it definitely doesn’t have to be quick. If you make the pasta, and the sauce, and the meatballs, it can be an all day affair. I didn’t make the pasta this time, but you could potentially split those three major operations into separate times, or even separate days. I formed the meatballs the night before, and made the sauce the next day when I prepared the meal.

Meatball Ingredients

1 teaspoon bacon grease
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup croutons, crushed (measure after crushing)
1/2 cup Asiago, shredded
12 fresh basil leaves, diced
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 pounds ground beef
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 ounces chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup red wine
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients

1 pound box dry penne regate (15 cups cooked)
Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions

1. Heat the bacon grease in a large, tall pan. Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Stir frequently until slightly browned. Remove from pan.

2. Combine roasted garlic with remaining meatball ingredients. Add some salt and pepper. Mix by hand until combined. Allow to rest for 10 minutes to allow dry ingredients to incorporate.

3. Form into 2 ounce meatballs. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cook a small amount in a pan to check the taste. Add salt and pepper as needed and blend into the mixture.

4. Bake meatballs for 15 minutes or until browned.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, tall pan. Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Stir frequently until slightly browned. Stir in oregano and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are softened.

6. Add red wine and heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half.

7. Add tomatoes and basil to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes to thicken. Blend in remaining oil and heat for another 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

8. Stir meatballs into the sauce, and warm as needed.

9. Plate by adding cooked pasta to a plate and covering with meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese as desired, and serve.

 

[meals cook]

If we have little time
Can we fry meatballs in a pan or air fryer?

 

[blades]

Ah, the oven. That's the solution. I put cheese in my pork meatballs as well and then I saute them in a pan. Frankly they don't cook very well. Your meatballs look scrumptious. Thanks.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

If we have little time
Can we fry meatballs in a pan or air fryer?

I've never tried that, but I think I will sometime.

 

[caseydog]

I've never tried that, but I think I will sometime.

I've always pan fried my meatballs before putting them in my sauce. It just browns them on the outside. They cook through in the sauce.

CD