Pork and Veal Meatballs with Ricotta
Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 5:55PM 
I’ve had an aversion to meatballs all my life but not any longer. This is thanks to A16 the restaurant in San Francisco. A16 is named after the highway, which runs from Naples to Canosa, Puglia. The menu reflects much of what Southern Italy offers. Thanks to Chef Nate Appleman’s inspiration (and his brilliant use of ricotta) my kitchen is void of hard, dense, dry meatballs made solely of beef. Well actually meatballs never existed in my kitchen. I never made them, since I didn’t like hard, dense dry balls of beef. Cue the ground pork for flavor, now bring in the ground veal to lighten them up, add ricotta for moistness and applause for Chef Appleman. The finale ends with perfect tasty meatballs.
Ingredients
Makes: 15-17 wonderful moist meatballs
1 lb ground veal
1 lb ground pork
1-tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons oregano
1-teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup ricotta cheese
1-cup panko breadcrumbs
Olive oil
1 - 28 oz can of chopped Italian tomatoes
1 - 28 oz can of strained Italian tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the veal and pork together in a large bowl using a fork. Add garlic powder, oregano and red pepper flakes. Mix to distribute spices throughout meat. Add ricotta, eggs and panko; continue mixing until combined. Shape into 15 meatballs using a ¼ cup measure or enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Cover the bottom of a large ovenproof skillet with oil. Transfer the meatballs to skillet and roast uncovered for 30 minutes, until they begin to brown. Loosen the meatballs with a large spoon and turn. Lower oven temperature to 325°F. Pour tomatoes over meatballs and continue cooking uncovered for 2 hours longer, the meatballs will be tender and the sauce thickened and hearty.
Straight from the oven
Reader Comments (5)
Nice job, Ms. Kerr-Dineen!
Wow these meatballs loks so yumm. Came through the blogheradd.
Can i use normal breadcrumbs.
Yes, Happy Cook - regular bread crumbs are fine. I like panko since they are lighter. Just don't mix the meat too much or the dreaded hard, dense meatballs will emerge...
Thankyou for the info
No problem...glad you liked the recipe!