Turkey Meatballs & Sunday Sauce

I have been looking forward to posting this for a while. I love a good sauce, especially on a Sunday. It is such a comforting dish and the smell reminds me of my childhood. Most Italian families swear by “their” sauce. I get it. Because I swear by ours ;-). Since I was a little kid, I have watched my mom make all different kinds. There is a sauce for Cioppino on Christmas eve, a puttanesca, one with sausage & braciole, or short ribs. There are SO many ways to do it. And serve it! I served this dish in particular over mashed cauliflower. If you’re looking to lay off the carbs, it really is a nice combo.

In this recipe, I made it with meatballs. You can easily do it with sausage too or no meat if you prefer. I explain in the notes section below why San Marzano tomatoes trump all others and the reasoning behind the combination of crushed and whole. Mostly though, I do it this way because it is the way my mom has always done it. And when it comes to cooking, I trust her implicitly. You should too.

Meatballs:

• 1 pound ground turkey*

• 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 cloves garlic, minced 

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• pinch of sea salt  

• pinch of ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 extra-large egg, beaten

• Olive oil

• vegetable oil 

*Note: To make these more flavorful you can use ground beef. Or if you want to double the recipe, use 1lb ground beef and 1lb of ground pork. Or do 1/2 lb ground pork and 1/2 lb of ground veal. I have done this before for a richer meatball. It is delicious. Just adjust the other ingredients accordingly.

For the Sauce:

• olive oil

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 1-3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/2 cup red wine (have more on hand if needed)

• 1/2 of a 28oz can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes *see notes for the other half

• 1 28 oz can of San Marzano Peeled Whole Tomatoes *

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• salt

Instructions:

For the meatballs…

1. Place the ground meat, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs.

2. Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large skillet, about 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't overcrowd the balls! Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan leaving the fried remnants for flavor.

For the Sauce…

1. In the same pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

2. Using your hands (yes, sometimes you have to get dirty!), break apart the whole tomatoes using your fingers. Be careful and make sure you don’t squirt yourself w tomato juices. That can easily happen.

3. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 30 - 45 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Notes:

• For a thicker sauce… —> Simmer longer. The longer you simmer, the thicker AND more flavorful your sauce will get. However you will not want it too thick, so you will want to slowly add in a combination of more crushed tomatoes, wine and maybe broth. I did a little of all three and simmered mine for about 3 hours, uncovered. It was VERY flavorful. I ended up using the whole can of crushed tomatoes.

• San Marzano Tomatoes: These are just the best and offer the most robust flavor when it comes to sauce. I can tell the difference and you will be able to as well if you haven’t already tried them.

• Why use Whole tomatoes? FLAVOR! My mom always uses both crushed and whole in her sauce bc she says it makes for more flavor. And I implicitly trust my Italian mama. So, you should too!