Everyday Meatballs

• servings: Yield: 22 to 24 small

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat (I use a mix of beef and pork)

2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs or 1/2 cup panko

1/3 cup milk or water

2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)

2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, divided

Pinches of red pepper flakes or few grinds of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

2 large eggs

2 garlic cloves, minced, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 28-ounce can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes

Directions

Place meat, crumbs, milk or water, parsley, cheese (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, onion powder, eggs and half of your minced garlic in a large bowl. I like to mix all of this together with a fork, which does a good job of breaking up the eggs and chunks of meat. Form mixture into 1 1/2 to 2-inch meatballs and arrange on a plate. I like to let them set in the fridge for a bit — 30 minutes, if you can spare it — which helps them keep their shape.

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and some pepper flakes and let sizzle until garlic is golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes (beware the splatter!) and season with remaining salt. Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes (with a thicker puree) or 20 (for crushed tomatoes, which are usually more watery), stirring occasionally.

With stove on the lowest heat possible to maintain a gentle simmer, add meatballs to sauce one by one, and cover with a lid. It will be hard but please don’t touch or move them for at least 20 minutes of the 25-minute cooking time, so that they have a chance to keep their shape. Meatballs should be fully cooked through at 25 minutes, but it cannot hurt to cut one in half to verify.

Eat however makes you happy:

as-is.

with spaghetti: I’ll cook it very al dente, a generous minute shy of done, reserve a little pasta water, then once the spaghetti is drained, place it back in the pot with a splash of the water and a ladle or two of the sauce beneath the meatballs and cook it together over high heat for a minute. Tip spaghetti into a large, wide bowl, add the meatballs on top. Note: If your family likes a lot of sauce with their spaghetti, you might consider making the meatballs with an extra half or whole can. Just use what you need.

“parmesan”-ed: Place meatballs in a shallow baking dish with some of their sauce. Tear about 8 ounces mozzarella over the top and broil until melted. Finish with some parmesan, if desired, some breadcrumbs fried in a little olive oil and/or chopped parsley.

with garlic bread (don’t do this, just don’t). [But here’s a recipe for my favorite, to make the decision more difficult.]