This recipe is from Giada De Laurentis.
Ingredients
For the Marinara Sauce:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 small onions chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2 stalks chopped celery
2 carrots diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano preferred.)
2 dried bay leaves
For the meatballs:
1 small onion grated
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 egg
3 Tablespoons ketchup
3 minced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 dried Italian bread crumbs
18 ounces lean ground beef
Method
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes. The onions will soften. (I do not usually use red onions, but that is what I had at the time. It was nap time and I was not heading out over onions.)
Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper to the pot. Cook until the veggies are soft, another 10 minutes or so.
Add the crushed tomatoes and bay leaves. I like my sauce fairly smooth so I hit it with my immersion blender.
Simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens, about an hour.
Put the first 7 meatball ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. And then stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Then mix in the beef.
I roll my meatballs fairly small. I use an ice cream scooper to try and get them roughly the same size.
Bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. It will depend on the size of your meatballs. They are also going to be simmered in the sauce too, so do not over cook them or they will be really dry.
Add your meatballs and let simmer uncovered with the sauce. Give it a stir every 10-15 minutes or so. Be careful when you are cooking the sauce to not break up the meatballs when you stir it.
Serve over some pasta and sprinkle with cheese. Dinner (that everyone loves) is served!
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