Meatballs w/Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce & Pappardelle

The weekend he proposed, we cooked a lot. On Friday, he made lobster rolls and discovered his abilities in the kitchen. He had originally planned on serving  meatballs from the ad hoc at home cookbook on Friday night as an appetizer but ran out of time. So on Saturday, we made the meatballs together with oven-roasted tomato sauce and homemade pappardelle. On Sunday, I had coincidentally planned on making the ad hoc fried chicken (before I even knew he planned on attacking the cookbook himself) but ended up making Ruhlman’s fried chicken instead.

Thomas Keller’s recipes are pretty fussy but these meatballs were surprisingly simple. We ground the meat ourselves, stuffed each ball with some mozzarella and roasted them in the oven until they were done. The most time-consuming items were the oven-roasted tomato sauce, which I found a little sweet and won’t make again, and the homemade pappardelle. I didn’t use Keller’s recipe for the pasta but I probably should have. I found a random food processor-friendly version online which didn’t have enough egg for my tastes. I will definitely make the meatballs again but next time I’ll simplify significantly with a simple marinara and pre-made pasta.

My best friend and her husband came over with a spinach salad and my favorite…peach cobbler! The meatballs were a hit and made great leftovers during the week.

Meatballs
from Thomas Keller’s ad hoc at home

• 2 Tbsps oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• 12 oz boneless beef sirloin
• 12 oz boneless beef chuck
• 8 oz boneless pork butt
• 8 oz boneless veal shoulder or top round
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 large egg
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella

1. Heat oil over medium heat and sautee onions and garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Reduce heat and cook gently for 20 minutes until softened but not browned. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 425F
3. Cut meat into 1 inch chunks and season with 1 Tbsp salt. Grind meat with 3/8″ die into cold bowl (or a small bowl nestled in a larger bowl filled with ice). Run the meat through the grinder one more time on a smaller setting (3/16″ die).
4. Add onion, garlic, bread crumbs, parsley and egg into meat mixture. Check your seasoning by putting a small patty on a plate and microwaving for 30 seconds and tasting. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
5. Cut cheese into 12 cubes. Make 12 meatballs by measuring scant 1/2 cups. Flatten the meat, place cheese in the middle, and shape your meatballs.
6. Bake meatballs on a rack for 15-18 minutes until done. Serve with pappardelle and marinara.