Nana Jo’s Meatballs in Sauce
Jo, Grandma Pieramico, Grandma Jo, Nana Jo (all short for Josephine). Her presence and generosity was felt by all during her beautiful 99 years here on Earth and still lives on today. My great-grandmother was a vibrant, genuine, loving, resilient, and truly incredible human being. She was born in Sicily and grew up here in the United States. Though my Nana Jo passed away when I was only a baby, I have felt her love and passion for cooking my whole life. When I tracked down this recipe from my Aunt Audrey, I was so excited because my Nana Jo cooked everything with her eyes and with her heart. She hardly ever wrote down instructions or measured out ingredients and would taste as she went. When I made these meatballs and tasted her Sunday sauce, I cried. This recipe highlights the beauty of quality humble ingredients. You’ve got to try my Nana Jo’s meatballs in sauce, or as they say in Italy—”Polpette al Sugo.”
INGREDIENTS
MEATBALLS
1 lb ground beef (can use a mixture of ground beef, ground pork, and/or ground veal)
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs (not panko!)
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tbsp finely chopped onion (can also use 2 tsp dried onion)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan, optional
Grated parmesan, for topping
SAUCE
1 clove garlic, cut into halves
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 16-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (can also use 2 lbs steamed and peeled Roma tomatoes)
1 small can tomato paste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried basil
Dash of freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Mix together ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, onion, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and egg in a bowl with your hands.
Roll out into 1-2 inch balls. (Can make larger if desired.)
*Note: you can double the recipe and freeze meatballs for later use!
Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a skillet. Place meatballs in oil and fry until cooked through and browned on all sides (about 10 minutes per batch). Work in batches and place finished meatballs on plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Continue until all meatballs have been fried.
*Note: you can also bake the meatballs on an edged cookie sheet at 400 F for 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan once out of the oven. If making these meatballs for a different recipe (sweet and sour meatballs, Swedish meatballs…) only bake for about 15 minutes!
Sauté garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven until the garlic is brown. Discard the garlic at this point. (You just want the essence of the garlic in the oil prior to building the sauce!)
Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, butter, salt, sugar, basil, and pepper. Cover and heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until sauce thickens (about an hour).
*Note: My Nana Jo would oftentimes add in what she called “side meat” which was meat she had previously cooked for other meals throughout the course of the week. This could be pork, sausage, etc. depending on what she had.
Put the meatballs into the sauce for the last 10 minutes of cooking the sauce to warm them and allow flavors to come together.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy!
This sauce can be used for pasta, lasagna, pizzas….you get the gist! A perfectly balanced, slightly sweet, versatile sauce to elevate any Italian recipe.
Follow @injoskitchen on Instagram & watch this recipe come to life:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrLup6pMjxF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
