Italian Style Meatballs

My mother once told me the secret to great meatballs is all in the water. HUH? But through the years, I've learned those words to be very true. The other ingredients are sort of intuitive, right? But water? Water gives your meatballs a very moist texture, it is the most important ingredient to get right in my opinion.

This dish will serve a family of 7 plus leftovers for during the week to make meat Lasagna or Spaghetti Bolognese. (Check out my previous post on Split Second Marinara to compliment the meatballs)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

What you will need:

1 Baking sheet
1 1 large egg
1 1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup of water to start
1/3 cup of grated cheese
2 pounds of ground meat (try and find a mix of veal/pork and beef, that always makes the best
combo)
Pepper
1 large mixing bowl

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
Combine all ingredients about and start mixing with your hands until all of the ingredients are moistened and come together like the texture of a hamburger. The mixture should feel very soft and mushy. Pick up about 2 tablespoons of the meat and start to roll into a ball shape in the palm of your hand. If it DOES NOT feel really delicate, add more water. Continue shaping the meat into meatballs. Spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray. You can also opt to fry these, but this way is a bit more healthy.

Once all of the meatballs are on the baking sheet you can now put into the oven for about 30 minutes or until brown all around, turn the meatballs at the 15 minute mark.

Wine Recommendation: Hess Select ($22 - $25) or Ruffino Tan label ($15 - $17)

Tip - if you add to much water, that's ok! You can add in more bread crumbs.

Tip - for a fun addition to the dish, add in raisins to the meat mixture, it's a tradition in my family to have those added once in a while.

Bon Apetito!