Italy. This culinary rich country has provided some of the best food that we’ve ever seen, most famously, pizza. Have you ever been in the mood for some Italian food, but you find yourself broke from the stresses of life to even afford a nice evening out in that Italian restaurant that all of your co-workers have been raving about for the past 2 weeks? I get it. Life can be pretty unfair at times, and as much as you want to join your friends on an evening on the town, your expenses DO come first. But still, that succulent spaghetti and meatball dish (which might even be overpriced, by the way) is mocking you for not being able to afford it.

However, just because you can’t have the ‘premium’ spaghetti and meatball dish at that restaurant, doesn’t mean you can’t make a kickass Italian dish, right from the comfort of your own kitchen. Today, I’m going to share with you a recipe, designed to show you how to make meatballs to go with that spaghetti you may have sitting in the cupboard, just waiting to be cooked. Ready?

The Ultimate Meatball

Prep time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ lb ground veal
• ½ lb ground pork
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of freshly grated Romano cheese
• 1 ½ of Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 cups of stale Italian bread, crumbled
• 1 ½ cups of lukewarm water
• 1 cup of olive oil

Okay, I know that a couple of the ingredients listed here may initially be a turn-off for some of you, but just trust me and bear with it. The end product is what we’re interested in, and it’s going to be ultimately delicious.

Method

1. Combine the beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl.
2. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
3. Blend bread crumbs into your meat mixture. Next, slowly add the water at a rate of ½ cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist by now, yet still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. Shape into meatballs – or any shape that you prefer really, especially if making for little kids.
4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, and fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel.
   • If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.
5. Serve with your side dish, be it rice or spaghetti. This will serve 8 persons.

And there you have it! Rather than waste money at some stuffy restaurant, why not have a party at your place and invite some of your co-workers over? Not only would be much more economical, but it would serve to be a much more memorable experience.

Have you tried this meatball recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments below!